Final Fantasy IX: Blank's Story
by fffanatic666
Summary: What if Zidane was captured by the beast in Evil Forest and was petrifed instead of Blank? It's the story if Blank was the main character instead. and several other changes too...
1. Evil Forest

This is my first story, so don't be too harsh

Blank is the main character and, while escaping from evil forest, the beast that gets Blank gets Zidane instead.

PLEASE REVIEW!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of it's characters.

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Chapter 1: Evil Forest

They rushed through the forest and, as Zidane so perfectly put it, the forest _did_ seem to be chasing them. Steiner, the captain of the Knights of Pluto, was in the lead only because everyone let him. Steiner seemed like a very tempered man to Blank, even though he knew close to nothing about him. Steiner would be nice to bring along on their journey, as he will definitely protect the princess, but Blank has a feeling that Steiner will be more trouble then help.

In Steiner's hands was the beautiful princess of Alexandria. Blank has a bad feeling about traveling with her. Since an early age, Blank has been in contact with nobles and rich people, often times he would steal from them, but they always seemed stuck up and acted better then everyone else, even though they weren't. However, he wouldn't be with Garnet for long as Tantalus's mission was to bring the princess to Lindblum, so Blank would have to make sure he and Zidane brought her there as soon as possible.

The next person who Blank let pass him was the little black mage, Vivi. Blank truly felt sorry for him, he was brought onto the theater ship entirely on accident, and now he's running for his life against some weird rose monsters. Blank wasn't too sure what he would do with Vivi, though he was thinking that he would bring Princess Garnet to Lindblum first, then ask Cid for an airship and drop Vivi off at wherever he lives. If, of course, everything goes according to plan, and Blank would try to make sure it would.

Then, Blank speed up, though made sure he would be able to protect Vivi by keeping him ahead, after making sure Zidane was right behind him. Blank wasn't about to give up his best friend to those damn monsters, but he didn't want to get caught either. Zidane was always a little strange to Blank, not only did he have a tail and, to Blank's knowledge noone else did, he was a lady's man. Blank always wondered if any women really fell for him, for a one night stand at least, because Blank would imagine that they would be turned off by Zidane's tail. But, once you get past the tail, he is really a nice and cool guy and it's no surprise that Zidane easily gets a lot of friends.

"AAAHHHHH!!!" someone screamed behind Blank. Immediately, Blank spun around and saw Zidane trapped in one of the rose looking monster's claws. Blank drew his sword and headed to Zidane, however several other rose monsters began to appear, and charged in front of Blank.

Using the swiftness he trained so hard to obtain, Blank slashed the monsters down before they were able to even touch him. Blank continued his slashing, when, suddenly, he saw several of the rose monsters began to stop moving. Blank looked to Zidane to see that he, too, has been transformed into a gray stone, a sight that made Blank freeze for a moment. "Zidane!" Blank shouted, almost afraid to move.

Blank then felt for his map, and then, knowing that his life depended on it, ran as fast as he could from the site, the petrification stopping the rose monsters behind him. He continued running as fast as he could think was physically possible, until many vines began to rush to him and hit him, and try to get a hold of him. Using his mighty sword, Blank was able to chop off the vines as well, then he saw that they were covering up his only exit. Blank tried running as a wall of vines were forming in front of him.

However, the wall became complete and the petrification was nearly up to Blank, then, out of what Blank thought was the impossible, a blast of fire hit the wall, and a huge whole was now created in front of him. _What the hell?_ Blank thought, but then jumped through, only thinking of staying alive and unpetrified, unlike his good friend. Blank looked back to the forest, now free from his strangle hold, and saw the hole that was formed quickly close, by the vines, as if there was someone else within it's walls, and the wall became petrified.

"Zidane!" Blank shouted, not really expecting a response. "Zidane! Damn it!"

"Mr. Blank..." Vivi muttered, walking up to Blank.

Blank looked down at the ground, then furiously at the forest. That damned forest. Why did it petrify, Blank will never fully understand. Why did Zidane have to get captured, another thing Blank will never understand. He could only hope that one day he will be able to free Zidane, though he knew that time was not now.

_ I hope the boss and the rest of the guys got out..._ Blank thought. He knew that trying to help Zidane now would be a lost cause. He did have a soft, which would heal Zidane, but it would also heal the rest of the forest, and the rose monsters. Then, the rose monster that had Zidane would probably cut him in half.

"It's... just Blank..." Blank muttered to Vivi.

"I'm sorry about Zidane..." Vivi said, saying about the only thing he could think of. Vivi didn't really know Zidane, but he did seem plenty nice, or at least he was nice to Vivi.

"For a thief," Steiner added. "I suppose he wasn't that bad..."

"We should make a fire," Blank told them, trying to get off the subject of Zidane. "Once the princess recovers, we'll continue."

"What about... Zidane?" Vivi asked, knowing that Blank may never be able to return here again and free Zidane.

"We... can't do much now..." Blank answered. "Zidane was petrified in the claws of one of those rose monsters. If we use a soft, it would heal Zidane along with the rose monsters and the forest. The rose monster would probably cut Zidane in half then."

"I see..." Steiner muttered, setting the princess down. "Uhh..." Steiner then continued, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news... but it would seem Zidane held all of our supplies..."

Blank thought for a moment. _Damn it_, Blank thought. _What should we do? I have a soft, and a couple potions_, _but that's about it..._

"The south gate should be near here," Steiner proposed. "Perhaps we should go there, and perhaps purchase a tent."

"Too risky," Blank told the knight. "Monsters are roaming everywhere these days, I'll bet we'll be attacked by more then a few. I think we should stay near the forest. I once heard that many of the monsters here are afraid of the forest..."

"But... what shall we sleep in?" Steiner asked. "I have very little supplies, and I believe none of us have any food..."

Blank thought again, this situation was harder then he expected, but then an idea came into his head, "Vivi..."

"Yeah?" the little black mage asked, unsure of what Blank had in mind. Vivi trusted Blank, he seemed plenty nice and healed Vivi once, but still didn't really _know_ Blank. Blank was very strange looking, he had stitches all across his body which connected with mismatched skin, and he had that belt thing across his eyes, making Vivi wonder how he could even see.

"Did you make that hole in the vine wall?" Blank asked, then decided to clarify his question. "Was it you who let me escape?"

"Y-yeah..." Vivi muttered. "Why?"

"Thanks..." Blank first said. "Help Steiner build the fire..."

"Where shall we get wood?" Steiner asked.

Again, a cross road...

"Perhaps Blank and I shall go collect the wood," Steiner proposed. "Master Vivi may protect the princess."

"Uhh..." Vivi muttered, clearly nervous.

"That ok with you, Vivi?" Blank asked, though he could tell the nervousness in the young black mage's voice. Blank knew that Vivi possessed awesome powers, he knew that from the battle against that strange plant monster that held Garnet. In fact, Blank wasn't too sure they would have been able to beat the beast without the help of the black mage.

"I-I suppose..." Vivi muttered.

"Thank you, Master Vivi," Steiner saluted.

"Uhh... o-ok..." Vivi muttered.

"Alright," Blank said. "Let's go, Steiner." So, he and Steiner left their little campsite, or campsite to be, and walked a little ways away before they saw a small batch of trees. On their journey, they saw a beast, a small purple rat looking thing, but it ran away from them for some reason. Probably because Blank and Steiner outnumbered him... or, perhaps, because he could sense the forest nearby... Blank will never really know.

The night air was beginning to show it's true form, as it slowly blew against Blank's and Steiner's neck. The two moons hung high in the sky, giving off it's blue and red glow on the plains that Blank and Steiner now stood on.

"Why do you call him, _Master_ Vivi?" Blank asked, breaking the silence. He didn't want to have complete silence between them for much longer, he was manly thinking of Zidane and his tantalus brethren, and he didn't want to think about that much longer.

"He is a black mage and possess supreme magical powers," Steiner explained once more, a hint of annoyance was in his voice.

"I see..." Blank muttered. He could tell that Steiner wanted to talk to him about something else, but he couldn't tell what, but he suspected it had something to do with being a thief, so he decided to stay away from the subject as long as he could.

They were silent a minute, until Steiner chose to begin. "Why did you capture the princess?" the knight asked. "For ransom money?"

"No," Blank quickly and honestly responded, as he hacked his sword at a tree, Blank knew the blade would go dull, but it was his only option. Besides, he could sharpen it later. "We were hired to."

"By whom?" Steiner asked, surprisingly calm. "Terrorists?"

"No," Blank answered as he and Steiner started hacking at a tree. Eventually the tree fell, so Blank started cut it into smaller pieces.

"Then by whom?" Steiner asked, again calmly. It was very surprising to Blank how calm the knight was, at the castle and the theater ship, Steiner seemed like an unreasonable man. He seemed like he would only believe the words out of the princess, and not out of Tantalus, though, Blank supposed, he was Steiner's only source of information about the job.

"I..." Blank muttered, he couldn't tell Steiner, because he really didn't know. Very rarely does Baku tell his men anything about their employer, but Blank doubted it was anyone mean or evil, as he doubted Baku would be hired by someone like that. All Blank knew about the employer, was that he is from, or at least was in at the time, Lindblum and that they are very, very rich. However, Blank felt that he needed to make Steiner think he did know. "I can't tell you," Blank finished, not really lying. "Top secret, you know?"

"..." Steiner was silent for a minute and he looked very perturbed, and was clearly thinking deeply. "Very well... I suppose I need not know your employer... but... is he mean, or does he plan to cause any harm to the princess?"

"I doubt it," Blank answered, hoping he was telling the truth. He really hoped Tantalus wasn't going to be the reason for a war to break out.

"Very well..." Steiner muttered, knocking down another tree with his sword. "However, while the princess travels with us, I will keep a sharp eye on you. And, I expect to be with the princess for as long as it takes. And, I will not allow your employer touch the princess, understood?"

"..." Blank was silent a moment, realizing he had no idea what to do with the princess. _Damn it_, Blank cursed at himself for his lack of foresight. _How am I supposed to know where to drop off the princess?! ... well... I guess I can just wait for Baku and the guys to come back... unless their petrified too... Damn it!_

"Alright," Blank finally spoke. "I don't really care if you stay with the princess while we travel. It's up to you. But, I will bring the princess to... where she needs to be..."

"Very well," Steiner spoke after a minute of thinking. "I suppose we will have a temporary truce between each other. We shall both protect the princess, agreed?"

"Of course," Blank responded, in an obvious kind of way. "I don't want any harm to come to the princess either."

"Very well," Steiner said. "But, until we reach your destination, you will _not_ touch the princess!"

"No problem," Blank responded. Blank, unlike Zidane, had no intention in touching the princess, I mean, if she let him he gladly would, but he won't flirt or act like Zidane would around the princess. Even though she is really beautiful.

The two continued chopping wood until Blank and Steiner agreed that they would have enough for the night. They had a little trouble carrying it all back, Blank got cuts all over his arm from the small twigs, and Steiner would have if he didn't have all that armor on. The walk back was fairly simple, until they encountered two of those purple rat things. They both had to drop the wood and fight the beasts. The battle was very simple, but then they had to pick up all the wood again and continue back to their campsite.

To both of their surprise, the princess was sitting up and talking to Vivi when the thief and the knight returned. "Princess!" Steiner exclaimed, putting the wood in a small area that was surrounded by rocks that Vivi seemed to have made.

"Steiner?" the gorgeous princess asked. "What are you doing here?"

"He helped us save you," Blank answered for the knight, who seemed to be very joyful about the princess's awakening. "I'm Blank."

"Nice to meet you," Garnet responded. "And you are..." the prince pointed to the little mage, "Vivi, right?"

"Yeah," Vivi slightly smiled, though you could barely see it under his hat. Blank then put down his wood next to the little fireplace, and motioned for Vivi to come over.

"Use your fire spell on it," Blank told the young mage. Immediately, Vivi raised his arms so the palm of his hands faced the wood. Vivi then closed his eyes, and a very small fireball formed in front of this palms, then it slowly grew to the size of a tennis ball. Vivi then opened his eyes and it almost looked like the threw the fireball on the wood, and instantly fire started.

"Excellent job, Master Vivi!" Steiner praised, though he seemed to be more obsessed over the princess's awakening.

"Nice," Blank slightly grinned, but Blank's mind was elsewhere. _That damn forest_, he thought. Blank then began to walk down to the vine wall that blocked him from the forest, and slammed on it with his fist. "Damn it, Zidane!" Blank harshly muttered. He didn't want to yell and worry the group, who didn't seem to notice he left, but he still cursed the forest.

"Vivi told me your friend Zidane was captured in the forest," a voice from behind Blank said. Blank didn't have to turn to see who it was.

"Yeah," Blank told the princess. "I don't know why he couldn't have just escaped. He could have easily outrun them..."

"I'm very sorry," the princess walked a little closer to Blank, which greatly surprised him. "I also heard that it was Zidane who originally left the group to save me, but then you came and saved him, is that right?"

"Yeah," Blank chuckled. "Crazy kid."

"Is there any way we could save him?" Garnet asked. Blank was surprised that she spoke with such concern. Blank imagined the princess to be stuck up, and act like she was better then everyone else, but instead she acted like an equal, though she wouldn't be treated like one.

"Not without unpetrifying the entire forest. Or, at least, not without unpetrifying the entire forest with the stuff we have."

"I hope we find a way to free him. But first, I thank you Blank," the princess said, softly grabbing his arm.

Blank turned and looked back at the princess. She was gorgeous and it almost looked like she was about to cry. "Why?" Blank asked, trying to act like he wasn't hypnotized by her beauty.

"If you had never come to our aid, Vivi, Steiner, Zidane, and myself all would have fallen to that plant monster."

"It's alright," Blank told her. "Besides, it was the boss who let me."

"Oh... well then I shall thank your boss when we find him."

"... We aren't going to find him," Blank told her.

"What?! Why?!"

"I have to do my mission, first."

"But, surely we can spend a _little_ while looking for him..."

"Even if we looked, I bet we'd find that they were petrified, like Zidane. Baku was the one who said they shouldn't leave, so I don't know why he would change his mind..."

"Very well... I'm sor-" the princess began, but before she was interrupted.

"Princess!" Steiner called, running up to them. "What are you doing?!"

"I was simply thanking Blank for saving me," the princess answered, putting her hands on her waist.

"Very well..." Steiner mumbled. Blank could fell Steiner's eyes burning on his back, but Blank really didn't care.

"We should probably get back to camp," Blank said. "I'll bet Vivi's nervous about protecting it all by himself." So, Blank, Garnet, and Steiner made their way back to the nearby campsite, where Vivi was waiting.

"I'm tired," Vivi announced, as he stretched his arms out.

"Me too," Garnet yawned.

"I suppose we should get some rest before we head out," Blank agreed, then turned to Steiner. "Lets take shifts in guarding the camp."

"I shall not let the princess be protected by a thief!" Steiner exclaimed. "I shall guard the camp by myself!"

"Whatever..." Blank muttered and lied on the cold ground. It was very uncomfortable, even while using his hands as a pillow, but shortly after, he could hear Vivi's and Garnet's breath soften as they fell asleep.

_Already I lost Steiner's trust_, Blank thought, _Well... I guess I never really had it in the beginning, but it would have been nice to have a little trust..._

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What do you think? Any good?

Please review!!! and remember that this is my first story!


	2. Starting Out

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of it's characters.

Here it is, chapter two!

Please review once you finish reading!

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Chapter 2: Starting Out

Blank woke up a little before the sun rose. He glanced over to where Steiner was standing, and saw him asleep while standing. _How did he do that?_ Blank thought, not knowing anyone who is able to sleep while standing, or at least he thinks he doesn't know anyone with said ability.

Blank heard a shuffling noise behind him, and quickly rolled around, and saw a small moogle lying there. Blank slightly smiled and stood up, wiped his hand through his flaming red hair, and then walked over to the petrified wall of vines. Blank glanced at the forest that he know loathed more then anything he could possibly have thought of.

Blank leaned up against the petrified wall, and thought of his tantalus brethren. _I wonder if they got out..._ Blank thought, hoping they did. _They may have gone out a way that was closer to Alexandria. We didn't make it far from there before we got shot down, so I wouldn't be too surprised, but I still don't know why they would attempt it. Who would have known that the forest became petrified? I wonder if it had something to do with us defeating that huge plant boss guy..._

Blank took out his map and began looking for a place to go, now that they were going to really start their journey. He knew that the South Gate was closed, but decided that he should go their anyway, in case someone is there and would let them buy some supplies, and allow Blank to buy clothes, other then the ones he had to wear for the play. Blank then started scanning the map for a place to cross over the mountain, hopefully without having to scale the mountain, as he doubted Garnet or Vivi could climb it.

Then, after throughly scanning the map, he found a strange indent in the mountains to the east of him. Blank had never really used a map before as he very rarely did anything that needed a map, and when he did use a map, Cinna was there to help him use the map.Blank hoped that the indent was some sort of cave, so he decided that they would head to the South Gate, then to this cave, or what he hoped to be a cave.

Blank then noticed some movement, and looked to the camp, where he saw the moogle get up, and turn over to Blank's direction. The moogle quickly rushed over, his little red pompom bouncing as he did, and then took a purple flute out of somewhere in his fur. "Here!" the moogle said as he gave the flute to Blank. "It's a Moogle Flute, kupo! Now you can call us anywhere in the world, kupo! We can also send mail back and forth!"

"Why are you giving this to me?" Blank asked, very confused why the moogle was even in the campsite in the first place.

"Because I saw you escape from Evil Forest, kupo," the moogle told Blank, which only confused him more, but ignored it.

"Can you find people?" Blank asked the cute little creature.

"Kupo," the moogle nodded.

"Can you find the members of Tantalus?" Blank asked.

"It'll cost, kupo..." the moogle bargained.

"How much?" Blank sighed, reaching into his pocket where he kept the money that he earned while sword fighting with Zidane.

"Uhh... 100 gil, kupo," the moogle smiled, not deviously but very cutely.

"Fine..." Blank nodded and picked out a few gil and gave it to the little moogle and put it into the mysterious pocket.

"I'll find you once I find them!" the moogle exclaimed, and started to run off.

"Hey wait!" Blank called, just before the moogle was gone.

"Yeah?" the moogle asked.

"Uhh, also tell them that I need to know where to drop off the... uhh... person, and that Zidane was petrified," Blank ordered.

"Need to know where to drop off the... person," the moogle looked suspiciously at Blank, who simply nodded. "And that Zidane was petrified."

"That's right," Blank nodded.

"Alright!" the moogle again exclaimed, and rushed out of sight in speed that Blank couldn't believe even after seeing it with his own eyes.

Blank then glanced at the flute and thought of how it might be of use, but then thought of something. Blank placed the end in his mouth, and put his mismatched fingers on random holes across the flute. Blank blew into the flute and made a 'puet' sound. Blank quickly took the flute away from his mouth and put it into one of his pockets, and thought he would ask the princess if she could play the flute, and hoped she could.

Blank then put the map into his pocket as well, as he noticed the princess starting to shift, and slowly open her beautiful brown eyes. She immediately noticed Blank standing there and slightly smiled, showing her perfectly white teeth. "Why are you already up?" Garnet softly asked the thief and he could barely hear her.

"I just woke up," Blank answered, a little loud so she could hear him. She then got up and walked over to him, as so they could really speak.

"Where are we going next?" Garnet softly asked, and it was clear to Blank that she was still not fully awake.

"First we'll go to the South Gate to get some supplies," Blank answered, then remembered the flute he received from the moogle. "Which reminds me, can you play the flute?"

"A little," Garnet answered, then noticed the flute in his pocket. "Mother made me learn a couple instruments. Why?"

"A moogle gave me this flute," Blank answered, taking the flute from his pocket. "He told me to play it if I needed any help, but I don't know how to play."

"Alright," Garnet took the flute and put it in her mouth as Blank had done earlier. She played very beautifully, much better then she made it seem she could play, and a moogle came rushing to them from the south.

"May I help you?" the moogle asked.

"Yeah," Blank answered, and showed the moogle the map and pointed to the indent he hoped was a cave. "Is this a cave?"

"Yeah," the moogle nodded. "I'm positive."

"Where does it lead?" Garnet asked, not certain what they were talking about but wanted to be involved.

"It leads to Dali," the little moogle answered.

"Thanks," Blank nodded as the moogle ran back down the south. Blank then turned to the gorgeous princess and asked, "Do you know about the village?"

"Not really," the princess answered. "I just know that it's an Alexandrian village."

"Hmm..." the thief muttered. "Then we might have some trouble..."

"What do you mean?" Garnet questioned the tantalus member.

"Well, they'll probably recognize you," Blank answered. "We'll have to make a fake name for you..."

"Oh really?" the princess asked. "What shall it be?"

"It's up to you," Blank told her. "We won't need it for long, though."

"Umm..." Garnet muttered. "Are we going to go to back to Lindblum?"

Blank really hoped the question wouldn't come up, as he is afraid she might tell Steiner, who would almost definitely tell someone. "Geez... does it really matter?"

"Why did tantalus try to capture me at the castle?" the princess pressed on. "To me, it really does matter."

"I can't tell you," Blank answered. "I mean, if you were to escape and tell people, including your mother, war might break out."

"I suppose it makes sense..." Garnet muttered.

"Now you tell me some stuff," Blank told her, making her very surprised. "And answer them better then I answered yours," the princess covered her mouth with her palm and giggled, "Why did you want to get on the ship?"

"..." the princess looked down at her feet.

"If we didn't crash, we would have made it to Lindblum," Blank told her. "Is that why? You wanted to go to Lindblum?"

"..." she was silent again, and looked up at his face. "Please... I can not tell you why... but please bring me to Lindblum..."

Blank was glad, though he was able to perfectly hide it, she wants to go where he wants to take her. "I will," Blank silently answered.

"Oh thank you!" the princess exclaimed, and looked like she might jump up into Blank's arms and deeply hug him.

"It's alright," Blank shrugged. "But it may take a while..."

"That's fine," the princess smiled. "As long as we get there, it'll be fine."

"Well," Blank said after a moment of silence. "We should head out, we have a long day ahead of us."

"Alright," the princess nodded. "I shall wake up Steiner, you may wake up Vivi."

"Alright," Blank nodded, and they both walked over to the two sleeping men. Blank knelt down and shook the small black mage awake.

"Mmm..." the little mage muttered.

"Wake up, Vivi," Blank silently spoke.

The mage then slowly opened his eyes, and said, "Mornin' Blank..."

"Get up, Vivi, we're going to start up, we have a long day ahead of us," Blank told the little mage.

"Where are we going?" the little mage asked as he sat up.

"We're going to the South Gate and then to Ice Cavern," Blank told him.

"Ice Cavern?" the mage asked.

"Yeah, you know anything about it?" Blank asked, wanting to know anything about it.

"My grandpa told me that it would take us above the mist," Vivi answered.

"Oh really..." Blank thought. "Well, that's good. Hopefully that means that we'll have to fight few enemies."

"Hopefully," the little mage added as he stood up and grabbed his staff. Blank looked over and saw that Steiner was ready to go as well, so he and the rest of his team started off on their journey.

Immediately his was annoyed, the princess and Vivi were very slow, much slower then he suspected, and Steiner stayed back with the princess. So, to keep the group together, Blank had to walk very slowly. _Aw geez_, Blank sighed, _this is going to take forever..._

They continued traveling, when they encountered three purple rat creatures, and immediately Blank and Steiner drew their swords, Vivi rose his staff, as if trying to summon a spell, and Garnet pulled out a staff of her own. "That is a Mu!" Garnet cried.

"How do you know this?!" Blank asked, not meanly, but questionably.

"The princess has studied creatures for many years!" Steiner shouted. "Now, princess, allow me to slay this beast!"

"No!" Garnet shouted. "I shall fight as well!"

"We have to protect you!" Blank told her. "You can't fight!"

"Watch me!" the princess shouted. She then ran up to the mu and smacked the creature across the face with her staff. It fell back, but then got right back up and growled at the princess, then attempted to tackle her. However, before the beast could reach her, Steiner jumped in front of her and sliced his sword into the rat beast's skull. Blood flowed from it's new wound, and the beast fell limp, however, the other mu then tackled Steiner to the ground.

Blank then rushed up to the beast atop his companion, and sliced it's stomach, causing it to fly off Steiner and fall to the ground. It was rapidly losing blood, but it was still able to stand on it's four legs, and attempted to tackle Blank. "FIRE!!!" Vivi shouted, and the beast exploded into flames in mid air. Blank then grabbed the princess's wrist and jumped out of the way. The inflamed beast then fell on the ground where Garnet was standing. The beast roared out once more time before his body stopped shifting and it fell silent except for the roar of the flames.

"You see, princess?" Steiner said as he stood up, wiping off the blood on his armor. "If it had not been for me, you would have been injured. A battlefield is a very dangerous place..."

"I know that, Steiner," the princess told him. "But I was training real hard before tantalus came. I was training for battles like this."

"I just do not believe you are fit for a battlefield," the knight told her. "It is very dangerous and I will be in serious trouble if you were to be injured."

The princess sighed and turned to Blank, "What do you think, Blank?"

"I thought that you were pretty good in a fight," Blank told her, making her smile. "And with a little training, you may almost be as good as us, but the battlefield is very dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt..."

"Oh come on!" Garnet cried. "Even you agree with Steiner!"

"Actually I think you should be able to fight," Blank informed her, making her smile even wider. "But it is dangerous."

"Well... yeah..." the princess muttered. "But I trained for this..."

"How about this," Blank proposed. "You can fight, but Steiner, Vivi, and myself will protect you as much as we can."

"That works," Garnet nodded. "Is that ok with you, Steiner?"

"I suppose..." Steiner said, slightly annoyed.

"What about you, Vivi?" Garnet asked. The three looked over to where Vivi was, and saw that he was crouching over the Mu that was killed by Steiner.

"Do you think this is edible?" Vivi asked.

Garnet chuckled and answered, "Yes, but I think we may get something a little better at the South Gate."

"..." Vivi stared at the fallen beast. "I'm hungry..."

"Don't worry, Vivi," Blank told the little mage. "Once we get to the South Gate, we'll get something to eat... assuming someone's there..."

"What do you mean?" Garnet asked.

"Well, last I heard the South Gate was closed," Blank told the princess. "So I wouldn't be surprised if noone was there."

"Why has it closed?" Garnet asked, however all three were quiet.

"Let's go," Blank instead said, and they continued traveling, Garnet slightly curious why noone answered her question, though to Blank it looked like she understood.

They traveled for about another two hours, encountering several of the Mus along the way though nothing even halfway threatening as they only came in groups of three. As they were beginning to reach the South Gate a heavy scent of something Garnet nor Vivi could quite know, but Blank and Steiner fully knew what the scent was.

It was blood.

They finally reached the South Gate, where the top of the gate was crushed and there was a large hole in the center of the gate, though not large enough for anyone, except possibly Vivi. The wall around the mighty door was crushed as well and there were red stains across the wall. Also, the scent was even stronger, so strong Garnet nearly gagged. "Are you alright, Princess?!" Steiner immediately asked.

"I'm fine," she answered as she covered her mouth. "It's just this smell..."

"How about you and Steiner go wait out there," Blank proposed. "Vivi and I'll get all the stuff we need."

"Alright," Garnet answered and she and Steiner quickly left the scene, leaving only Blank and Vivi. The two walked up to the destroyed door, and Blank stuck his head through the large hole, and saw several bodies lying on the ground. He also saw one woman who wore a beautiful dress, except for the stains of blood on it, and she had long blond hair.

"Hey!" Blank called. The woman turned around and Blank saw that she had a huge scar covering her right eye and that her left eye was blood shot. Now, Blank saw, she was no where near beautiful, though she may have once been, but he was in no position to jest, he had wounds all across his body. "Could we buy some items?"

She quickly walked up to the hole and asked, "What would you like?"

"Uhh..." Blank muttered. "Well... we would like some canned foods..."

"We have plenty of canned peas and beans," the woman quickly spoke.

"Alright, we'll have about... twenty of each," Blank told her, and she seemed to note it in her head. "And then... do you have any clothes?"

"We have several colored jeans and several muscle shirts," the woman quickly spoke once more.

"Do you have black jeans and a white muscle shirt?" Blank asked, as he normally wore that clothing.

"Yes," she nodded.

"Then I'll have a large bag and a tent and that'll be all we need," Blank said and reached into his pocket and pulled out several gil. "How much will it cost?"

"Uhh..." she calculated in her head. "Three hundred gil."

Blank was surprised at the cost and asked, "Three _hundred_ gil?!"

"I'm sorry, but I need the money," the woman told him. "Alexandrians came and killed _everyone_!" she then began to bawl, clasping her face in her hands, and Blank could nearly see the water drip from her hands.

Blank then reached his arm through the hole and softly grasped her shoulder, "It's ok," Blank softly told the woman. "I'm sure everything will be alright..."

"How?!" the woman cried. "How can everything be alright?! They took _everything_ from me! My friends, my life, my eye... and Frank!"

Blank, assuming Frank was her lover, began to rub her shoulder and said, "There are many other men in this world. You'll find one for you."

She then showed her face again, and looked at Blank's belt, and, Blank could tell, she would have been looking into his eyes if she could. "Thank you," she wryly smiled, though her huge gash made it barely visible.

"Here's your three hundred gil," Blank handed her the money, but she didn't accept it, waving her hand to him.

"It's free," she told Blank. "Thank you for your comfort, thank you so, so much. I will live this place and start a real business elsewhere."

"Are you sure?" Blank asked once more.

"Of course," the woman told him, then walked away, but returned a moment later with two paper bags, full of cans of peas and beans, and Blank's knew clothes. "Here you go," the woman gladly gave Blank the bag.

"Thank you," Blank said, taking the bags from her, then saw her walk away and he and Vivi, and gave the bags to Vivi, after taking his clothes out. "Now, Vivi, take these bags to the other's and I'm going to change into my new clothes.

"Alright," Vivi nodded and ran off to the others. Blank then went against the wall, and quickly changed into his new clothes. The black jeans were very comfortable and perfect size, but his white muscle shirt was a little big, hanging off his chest.

About five minutes later, Blank came to the people, now dressed in his white muscle shirt and black jeans, and had a large brown pack on his back, full of the items he just received for free. "Nice new clothes," Garnet told him.

"Thanks," Blank grinned, pulling on his shirt. "The shirt's a little big, but it's fine."

"I shall take the bag!" Steiner said and immediately took the huge pack off Blank and put it on his own.

"Whatever," Blank shrugged.

"Well, shall we start off?" Steiner asked.

"Alright," Blank nodded. They again started off, this time heading to Ice Cavern, which would lead them to Dali. They continued crossing the plains, encountering a couple of Mus and getting them all much stronger, specifically Garnet and Vivi, who had just begun fighting. It took them about another two hours, with Garnet, Vivi, and Steiner still walking slowly, but they were finally able to make it to Ice Cavern.

"Here we are," Blank said, knowing that it would probably be a long ways and it would be a lot of climbing in the cavern, but he hoped that Garnet and Vivi were able to follow closely enough behind. Already, Blank could tell why they call it Ice Cavern, as Blank could already feel the cold air coming off of the cavern. Garnet seemed more excited then cold, as she clasped her hands together and slightly jumped up.

"Wow," the gorgeous princess smiled. "I've heard of this place, and I've heard that it is very beautiful inside. I cannot wait!"

"KUPO!!!" they could hear off to the distance. Blank and the others looked over and saw a moogle rushing to them at a still unbelievable speed. "Wait, kupo!" The moogle then finally made it to them, and didn't even stop to pant.

"Did you find tantalus?" Blank asked the cute little moogle.

"Yeah," the moogle nodded. "They are out of the forest, kupo!"

"They made it out?!" Blank exclaimed, and felt like leaping for joy.

"Yeah, kupo," the moogle nodded and pulled a letter out of an area Blank still wasn't sure where it was. "They also gave you this letter."

Blank quickly opened the letter and began reading it, though didn't speak aloud, as so noone would know where he must bring the princess.

Dear Blank,

This lil moogle tells me ya escaped. Good for ya! However, I also heard about Zidane. Now didn't I tell ya to take care of that lil guy?! Oh well. Don't worry about him, we'll find a cure for him when we get back to Lindblum. And for the 'person' you must bring her to Lindblum, and give her to the regent.

Once you deliver the 'person', wait at the hideout until we come back. Then we can help Zidane together.

See ya, Boss

"What does it say?" Garnet asked after she was certain that Blank had finished reading the letter.

"Nothing much," Blank answered, folding the paper and putting it in his pocket. "It basically said that they escaped from Evil Forest and that once they return to Lindblum they will start searching for a cure for Zidane."

"Oh..." Garnet nodded. "Well... at least Zidane will be freed."

"Anything else for me to do?" the little moogle asked.

"No," Blank shook his head at the little moogle. "If we need anything, we'll call you on the moogle flute."

"Alright," the moogle nodded then ran off at his supersonic speed.

"Well... shall we go in?" Garnet asked, partly full of anxiety, though she tried, and failed, to hide it.

Blank sighed, not wanting to go into the cavern, as he knew that he would be colder then he's been in a long time... "Alright..." Blank sighed. "I guess we should... but we should eat some of this food first."

"Yeah!" Vivi immediately leapt up in a sort of cheer.

Garnet covered her mouth and chuckled, but then agreed, "I suppose it would be wise."

"If the princess wishes it," Steiner immediately spoke, "Then we shall feast!"

"Alright..." Blank nodded. "We'll have to start another fire then..."

"Nonsense!" Steiner exclaimed. "We shall have Master Vivi light the cans with his black magic!"

"That ok with you, Vivi?" Blank asked the little mage who looked unconfident.

"I-I guess..." Vivi muttered and walked up to Steiner, who took out four cans of beans. Steiner placed the cans on the ground and took a step back, while Vivi closed his eyes and summoned a fire spell like he did to start the fire at the campsite. The cans almost bursted open, or at least it seemed that it might have, but they didn't.

Blank then took out his sword and sliced a can of beans a little below the top, and handed it to the princess, who looked confused. "What is the matter, Princess?" Steiner asked the moment he noticed the look on the woman's face.

"Uhh... it is just that... what shall I eat it with?" Garnet asked.

"We shall find you silverware!" Steiner immediately exclaimed.

"No way," Blank instantly said. "If we stay here longer then we have to, we may be stuck in Ice Cavern during the night, and who knows how cold it could get during the night?" Blank then walked over to the princess, "You'll have to just swallow it from the can for now. It hopefully won't last too long..."

"I... I suppose..." Garnet nodded, and the took a little sip, and slightly smiled, however Blank received angry looks from Steiner, but he didn't care much.

Blank then cut off the tops of the other three cans, and gave them to the team members, and swallowed the hot beans that had very little taste but it was the first thing they had to eat all day, so they all quickly finished. Now finished with their meals, they ventured into the freezing cavern...

* * *

That was chapter 2!

How did you like it?

PLEASE REVIEW!

Also, I realize that in the first chapter Steiner seemed calmer, but I'll make him normal again...

And tell me what I should name Garnet, since I won't really have a good excuse for Dagger... Five reviews for the name before I decide.


	3. Ice Cavern

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy or any of it's characters

I hope you enjoyed the previous chapters and I hope you enjoy future chapters

PLEASE REVIEW!!!

* * *

Chapter 3: Ice Cavern

The cavern was freezing and Blank, Vivi, and even Steiner wanted to quickly leave this frozen 'paradise'. However, the princess seemed to love the cavern, even Blank couldn't deny that it was beautiful, but he wanted to quickly leave.

"Look at this flower!" Garnet exclaimed, crouching down an examining a frozen flower, that Blank thought looked like a violet.

"Please don't touch anything, Princess!" Steiner exclaimed, grasping the princess's wrist so she wouldn't be able to touch anything.

"Oh please, Steiner!" Garnet immediately spoke back. "It is just a flower! And a frozen one at that! It wouldn't be able to hurt me!"

"..." Steiner immediately let go of the woman's wrist, and looked down at his boots. "I-I'm sorry, Princess..."

"Can we please hurry?" Blank asked, having his hands covering his arms, making him wished he had asked for a sweater instead of a muscle shirt. It also seemed Vivi was shivering beneath his blue jacket and large hat.

"I suppose..." the princess muttered, slightly saddened by the fact that she can't study the gorgeous frozen floors of the cavern. The team slowly walked across the cavern, trying their best not to slip and fall off one of the treacherous trails. Blank had once heard of this place, though he couldn't quiet remember from where, but, from what he could remember, is that as the path went on it got so cold that if didn't move for over ten minutes, you could be frozen in your spot.

Blank kept his hands on his arms, as all the rest of the party members did, and rubbed, creating the friction that warmed him ever so slightly that it would probably never make a difference, but it seemed to satisfy Blank, along with the rest of the four person team. Blank tried to keep his mind off his team, but knew he it was inevitable. _I should write them once I get to Dali_, Blank thought, _I wonder why they escaped. And I wonder how bro's doin'._ _I guess I'll ask them about it once I write to them._

Blank and the team continued their short trek across the icy cavern, when they suddenly felt a cool wind blowing against their necks. Blank looked to the source of the wind, and saw it coming from a small hole carved into the ice. Blank decided against staying long, so he quickly went past, however, the instant he pasted, three huge beasts broke through the wall and turned to the rest of the crew. The beast had thick fur across it's large body, and had two huge fangs that curved up above their heads, that, Blank and the rest of the team could clearly see, would be their main source of attack.

Immediately, one lowered it's head and began to charge at the princess, however Steiner quickly leapt in the way, and sliced his blade into the beast's skull. The next beast did tackle Steiner and, even though the knight was wearing his heavy armor, he was able to knock Steiner back a few feet, now leaving the princess open. The third beast then charged at Garnet, and nearly tackled her, until Blank's sword went through the beast's stomach, causing it to stop in it's place and allow blood to flow from it's wound that nearly chopped the beast's body in half.

The second beast, the one that had attacked Steiner, was now up once more and attacked Vivi like he did Steiner, however, due to Vivi's condition, he was thrown against the wall and instantly fell unconscious. Blank then swiped his sword at the beast, making a non-fatal wound that still gave access to blood-flow, however the beast was still standing and ready to fight.

It stood, nearly fell back down as it did, and stumbled towards the princess. However, unfortunately for the beast, the princess was prepared to strike it this time, and she did, causing the beast to fall back to the ground and fall unconscious, where it would stay until it probably froze to death. Blank then immediately rushed over to the little black mage and attempted shaking him awake, "Vivi! Wake up Vivi!" Blank called.

"Oh dear..." Garnet muttered. "Steiner is unconscious as well..."

"Damn it!" Blank exclaimed.

"What shall we do?" Garnet asked.

"..." Blank thought through all his options. "Maybe... some healing items would heal them..."

"I suppose it is our only chance..." Garnet muttered. Blank took out a potion and quickly feed it to Vivi, and massaged the young mage's throat to make certain it would go down. Soon enough, the little mage fluttered his eyes open, and stood up once more, holding his head.

"You ok?" Blank asked the mage.

"I'm fine..." Vivi muttered.

"That's good," Blank nodded. The thief then took out another potion and turned around to feed Steiner one, however he saw that the knight was already standing. "Wha... Garnet? You had a potion too?"

"Nonsense!" Steiner exclaimed. "The princess is a white mage! She can summon upon white magic!"

"Really?!" Blank exclaimed.

"Umm... can we talk about this elsewhere?" Garnet asked, holding her arms. "It is very cold in this cavern."

"Yes! We shall speak of this elsewhere!" Steiner exclaimed.

"Fine, geez..." Blank shrugged, and they continued walking. "Next time we should be ready for an attack. The next time you fell any wind blowing up against you, tell the rest of the team immediately, alright?"

The rest of the team nodded, and so they began traveling down the icy trails once more, when Blank found a wall of ice and stopped. "What is it Blank?" Garnet asked.

"We must hurry!" Steiner exclaimed. "The princess is cold!"

"There's something behind this wall..." Blank muttered, and thought of how to get through it, when an idea came into his head. "Hey Vivi, come here."

"Y-Yeah?" Vivi nervously asked, walking up to Blank.

"Use your magic to break down the wall!" Blank exclaimed.

"I-I'll try..." Vivi muttered, and walked up to the wall. Vivi put the palm of his hands up against the icy wall, which made him slightly twitch away from the wall. Immediately, the wall began to melt down the wall, which revealed some gil behind the wall.

"Alright!" Blank exclaimed, and picked up the gil, which came to a total amount of 134 gil, but then gave it to the little mage. "Here, Vivi, you deserve it."

"Oh... well, it's ok," Vivi said. "We can spend it on food and a room at the inn once we get to Dali."

"You sure?" Blank asked.

"I noticed the money you had when you paid for the food and stuff," Vivi told the thief. "So we'll need the money..."

"I'm sorry," Garnet sighed, looking down to the ground. "I should have brought some money with me!"

"It's alright, this wasn't to be expected," Blank slightly sighed.

"Of course it wasn't!" Steiner exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Blank. "You thieves weren't supposed to capture the princess!"

"Steiner please!" Garnet exclaimed, making Steiner instantly step back. "We shall continue this later! Let's get out of here!"

"Yes, princess..." Steiner mumbled, looking down at his boots.

The team continued traveling through the slippery cavern, occasionally being forced into battle with the beasts that came with the wind. However, they were all easily enough defeated, since they were much more prepared this time, and they were able to continue. Also, they found a few more treasures, about 453 more gil, a dagger that Blank hopes he will be able to pawn off for plenty of money, and a new staff for Vivi, which intensified his magic.

As they traveled, they came to a fork in the road, to the left looked a normal place, but to the right a lot of wind was blowing, and Blank seemed to be able to hear a strange tune, but he could barely hear it over the wind. "Which way should we go?" Garnet asked the team.

"Which way do you suggest, princess?" Steiner asked.

"I have no clue..." Garnet muttered. "What way do you suggest, Blank?"

"I think we should go left," Blank suggested. "Since there's wind blowing from the right, there are probably a group of those beasts back there."

"It sounds like a good idea..." Garnet nodded. "Let's go."

"Very well!" Steiner exclaimed, "Let us go!" The team then took the left path, however, it was a dead end, which meant they would have to go down the right path. However, there was a strange statue that nearly looked like it was sculpted.

"What is that...?" Garnet asked, walking up and inspecting the statue.

"Princess!" Steiner cried. "Please don't touch anything!

"It looks like a... moogle?" Blank muttered, tapping the ice. "Hey, Vivi, come here..."

"Alright," Vivi nodded, already knowing what he would be asked. He walked up to the statue and hit it with his fire spell, causing a moogle leap out, putting out any fire that may have been on his head.

"Damn it! You bastard!" the moogle cried, then instantly stopped, as if realizing he was freed. "Thank you, kupo!"

"Do you know how we get out of here?" Blank asked.

"You're almost out, kupo!" the moogle exclaimed. "All you have to do is go out and go down the right path instead!"

"Oh... alright," Blank nodded, hoping there was another option.

"Can I go with you, kupo?" the little moogle asked.

"Uhh... I don't see why not..." Blank muttered.

"Are you mad?!" Steiner exclaimed, pointing his blameful finger at Blank. "We are traveling with the princess! We can't just let random people be joining our travels!"

"He may be in league with Alexandria..." Garnet responded. "But other then that, I would not mind if he were to join us..."

"I will just leave!" the moogle shouted. "I hate it here! And I think there's some sealion near the exit, kupo!"

"A sealion?" Blank asked. "Then leaving might be a little hard..."

"People don't go by very often, kupo, so I don't really know how strong the sealion really is..." the moogle mumbled.

"I think we should bring him along," Vivi purposed. "I mean, it seems like he just wants to leave, and he _was_ frozen..."

"..." Steiner looked at Vivi for a moment, as if thinking of what to suggest, but then said, "what do you purpose we do, princess?"

"I think we should take him along," Garnet told the knight, which made the old knight frown. "I do not see how he would hurt us..."

"I suppose..." the knight sighed.

"Great thanks!" the moogle exclaimed and quickly rushed out of the room.

Blank sighed, "I don't see how he could hurt us..."

"He better not...." Steiner muttered.

"He shan't," Garnet said, trying to reassure them. "What could he do? Moogles will not take money... will they?"

"Actually, I had to pay a moogle 100 gil to find Tantalus," Blank sighed.

The moogle then ran back into the room and shouted, "Let's go!" then he ran out, and, this time, Blank and the team followed him. They then followed the moogle down the right path, where icy wind was harshly blowing on the team, and Blank would have sworn that he heard bells, but decided to ignore it for now. The moogle rushed into the room and instantly stopped, as if hit by a mighty spell that froze him instantly.

"Is something wrong?" Blank asked the moogle after a couple seconds of the little creature standing still.

"Shh..." the little moogle muttered. "I think I hear... words..."

"Words?" Blank asked.

"Yes... an ancient spell..." the little creature muttered. "Coming from... bells..."

"Bells?" Blank asked, instantly knowing what the moogle was speaking about. "I heard bells a little earlier..."

"Really?" the moogle asked. "I thought only moogles could hear such spells..."

Just then, Vivi fell down and into a small ledge that was off the path, "Vivi!" Blank exclaimed, attempting to reach out to the little mage, but it was too late.

Vivi fell out of sight and Steiner immediately rushed up and looked down, "Master Vivi! Get up!" Steiner continued looking where Vivi was, when he slowly turned and looked at the princess, then fell down to the small ledge, making a large crash.

"Steiner?!" Blank and Garnet exclaimed, rushing over to the ledge and looked down, only to see them both unconscious, or what he hoped to be unconscious. "Are you guys ok?!"

"They should be," the moogle answered. "It was a sleeping spell... they should be out for a few hours..."

"They would be frozen by then!" Blank exclaimed. "We have to get them out of here!"

"Blank..." Garnet silently muttered. Blank looked over to see her eyes barely open, and then they closed, and she collapsed on the ground.

"Princess!" Blank exclaimed, then turned to the moogle, "What do we do?!"

"Here drink this!" the moogle took a vial that had a purple liquid in it out of his mysterious pocket. "It should protect you from the spell!"

Blank quickly grabbed it and, with the option of trusting the moogle or freezing to death, he quickly swallowed the liquid. It tasted horrible, but Blank quickly guzzled it anyway, knowing his options. "Now," the moogle ordered. "You have to find the source of the spell, or else they will freeze to death!"

"But... what if those beasts attack them?" Blank asked.

"I'll protect them!" the moogle exclaimed.

"???" Blank looked confusedly at the little creature who looked very innocent and that he may never be able to hurt anything.

"Hey! Don't judge me by my size!" the moogle exclaimed. "Us moogles can use magic!"

"... right..." Blank muttered, then continued down the path to find the bell sounds. Blank eventually found a fully grown black mage who was crouched over and had bells in his right hand and had black wings on his back and wore clothes similar to Vivi's. Behind the being was a frozen waterfall which lead Blank to believe that at one point this cavern was not frozen.

"How did you resist the spell?" the strange mage question, but then seemed to ignore his question, "I summon you, Sealion!"

Immediately, a huge sealion with huge fangs bursted through the frozen waterfall, and attacked Blank. Blank immediately drew his sword and slashed the attacking beast, which made it quickly recoil back near the waterfall. It then roared, and an explosion of water came from the waterfall and hit Blank, it's coldness nearly giving him frostbite. Blank quickly countered, but the mage used a blizzard spell, which made Blank even colder, and he was certain he would need to heal his wounds quickly. So, Blank took out a potion and quickly drank it.

Blank then saw the sealion preparing to attack again, so, when the titanic beast attempted to dive into Blank, Blank leapt in the air and landed on the beast's head. Blank took his sword and dug it deep into the beasts skull, causing the mighty thing to fall to the ground, twitch once or twice, then stop completely.

"My sealion!" the mage exclaimed. "I shall slay you for that!" The black mage then began to summon another blizzard spell, which hit Blank directly. Blank shivered a moment but then charged at the mage, and slashed it's stomach, which made the being grasp it's stomach and take a step back. "Damn you!" the mage hollered.

"This is it for you!" Blank shouted, and charged at the beast and stabbed the beast through the center of it's chest.

The beast looked up and it's beading green eyes glared at Blank a minute, but then they seemed to shut down, and the creature's head fell limp. Blank then tore his sword out of the beast's chest and wiped the strangely black blood against the snow, cleaning the blade. Blank then put the blade back in it's sheath, and turned to head back to the rest of his team, when he heard a strange voice that seemed to be from above him.

"You may have defeated black mage number one, but number two and three will reclaim the princess!" the voice hollered, and then Blank heard footsteps rush off.

Blank shrugged, since the current problem concerned the condition of the princess, and ran back to them. Blank then reached the team and saw the moogle was looking over the princess and that Vivi was up, but all the rest were still unconscious. "You the only one up, Vivi?" Blank asked.

"Yeah," Vivi nodded. "The moogle told me that you went out to look for the source of the spell, and that you stopped it."

Blank felt the frostbitten, or soon to be frostbitten, parts of his body, specifically his arms and legs. "Yeah, let's just hurry and get out of here," Blank muttered.

"Wha...?" Garnet muttered, rubbing her head and rising up. "What... what happened?"

"You were put under a spell to make you fall asleep," Blank answered. "You alright?"

"Yeah," Garnet nodded, and then stood up.

"Good," Blank responded, "You were put under a sleeping spell, now let's just hurry and get outta here. Then we can discuss this."

"Discuss what?!" Steiner exclaimed, climbing up to the main platform from the ledge.

"The sleep spell!" Blank exclaimed. "Let's get outta here! We'll discuss this later!"

"You probably made the spell!" Steiner accused.

"Shut up!" Blank shouted. "Come on! Let's go! We'll talk about this later!"

"Yes, Steiner," Garnet told the angry knight. "I am very cold. May we please speak about this later?"

"Yes, princess," the knight fell to his knee and bowed. "I am terribly sorry."

"It is fine, Steiner," Garnet responded. "Now let's hurry. Blank will tell us what happened later."

"Of course, my princess," the knight quickly bowed again, then the team took off once more. They reached the area where Blank fought the black mage and the sealion, however, the only body there was the sealion's.

"What is this?!" Steiner exclaimed, taking out his sword and stabbing it through the titan's skull.

"It's the sealion!" the little moogle exclaimed. "This was what prevented me from leaving the cavern! Did you defeat it?!"

"Yeah, now let's get outta here!" Blank commanded and they all, surprisingly enough including Steiner, quickly followed the thief through the cavern. The cavern quickly began to heat up a little, and Blank could see that the water that lead to the frozen waterfall had some water flowing through it, and it wasn't completely frozen.

A short while later, they were able to reach the end of horribly cold cavern, where, Blank immediately noticed, the moons hung high in the sky. "We're finally out!" Vivi smiled, and slightly leaped in joy.

"Yeah," Blank grinned, it was cold that night, but compared to Ice Cavern, it felt like they were in the depths of hell.

They continued walking out of the cavern, to find that they were close to the top of the mountain, but, fortunately, on the other side of it. They all looked down and could see that in the distance was a village that they all presumed to be Dali. "That must be Dali..." Garnet muttered.

"Yeah!" the moogle exclaimed. "I'll see ya there!" The moogle then, at it's supersonic speed, rushed down the mountain.

"Let us go!" Steiner proclaimed. "Perhaps we will be able to reach the bottom of the mountain before it becomes to late..."

"What a minute," Blank immediately said. "We need to give the princess an alibi..."

"Nonsense!" Steiner exclaimed. "We, along with YOU, shall call her princess!"

"Are you stupid?!" Blank exclaimed. "People will be looking for her!"

"A new name..." Garnet silently said to herself, ignoring the two swordsmen's fight.

"You are merely a thief!" Steiner shouted. "You will probably give her a secret name that you thieves know about! A codename for you damned thieves!"

"No way!" Blank shouted in responded. "She can choose the name if she wants! I don't really care! I just want her to be safe!"

"You lie I shall smote yo-"

"Steiner!" Garnet shouted with her hands on her waist to the knight. "I agree with Blank... I do need a new name..."

"Yes, my princess..." Steiner muttered.

"What do you want it to be?" Blank asked.

"How about... Claire..." Garnet muttered.

"Claire?" Blank asked.

"As in clarinet," Garnet explained. "I used to play the clarinet at the castle. It shall do, will it not?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Blank nodded.

"Excellent!" the princess slightly jumped. "I shall finally be able to roam a village like an average woman!"

"Talking like that, you won't be able to," Blank told her. "You still look and sound like a princess. You have to talk more like... well... me."

"I... I shall try," the princess muttered.

"No, no, no," Blank chuckled. "Just say... I'll try."

"Very well..." the princess nodded. "I'll try..."

"There you go," Blank grinned, along with the princess.

"The princess need not talk like that!" Steiner exclaimed. "She-!"

"Steiner!" Garnet exclaimed. "You must not call me princess! I order you to call me Claire from now on!"

"But... very well... now what are your plans on returning to the castle?" Steiner asked.

"I have no intention on returning to the castle," Claire answered. "Now let's hurry down the mountain, and set up camp."

"... Very well, prin... Miss Claire..." Steiner muttered, and then they all rushed down the mountain.

They were lucky and were able to make it down the mountain before nightfall, and then, they set up camp, Steiner and Blank collecting the wood, Vivi starting the fire and Claire... watching them work.

"So Steiner," Blank started. "Let's set up a night watch. I'm not very tired, so I'll watch first. I'll wake up later, and you can watch then, alright?"

"Nonsense!" Steiner exclaimed. "Why should I trust you watching the Prin... the missus?!"

"What have I ever done to harm the princess?" Blank asked. "Have I ever done anything secretive that you don't know about?!"

"You never told us what happened in Ice Cavern," Steiner told the young thief who immediately realized that he _did_ never tell them.

"Oh yeah..." Blank muttered, slightly blushing at his own stupidity. "It was weird... there was this... adult black mage who used the spell, but it was weird... he had black wings..."

"Black wings?!" Steiner exclaimed. "How can a human have wings?! That is absurd!"

"It's true..." Blank muttered. "I don't really understand, but I know black mages, specifically adult black mages are extremely powerful. Maybe he used his magic to get them. I don't really know, but the mage then summoned the sealion and attacked me. I managed to kill them both, but then, I heard someone say that it was a black waltz, and that number two and three will... reclaim the princess..."

"What?!" Claire exclaimed. "How... how did they find me?!"

"I have no idea," Blank answered, though he wouldn't have been surprised if Steiner had something to do with it.

"They're obviously willing to use force," Blank said. "So I think we should be ready for anything... that's why I suggested the night watch..."

"Then we must keep that standing," Claire said. "Steiner, Vivi, let's rest now. Blank, you keep watch."

"Right," Blank nodded. The three went into the tent, and Blank lied down, and looked up at the night sky, and here, unlike at Lindblum, he could see all the stars perfectly. And it seems like at Lindblum you see less of the sky everyday, with all the lights and technology they have. But, Blank was glad, he could now see them.

"The sky is beautiful," Claire silently said behind him about half an hour after everyone, but Blank, went to bed.

"Yeah," Blank agreed.

"Blank... why are you being so... well, nice to me?" Claire asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I am supposed to be your prisoner, aren't I?"

"Well... I suppose... but I'm just not that mean. I think you all have your own rights and stuff, I just want to take you to where I need to, I don't want you, or Vivi and even Steiner, to get hurt or anything..."

"You are... very nice, Blank," Claire said as she sat down next to him. "I am confused, though. You help me so much. You thought of making me an alibi, so I would be safer instead of forcing me to stay in a room until we're ready to leave..."

"Well... I trust that you won't return to the castle," Blank told her. "I mean... I know you want to go to Lindblum..."

"I know, but still..." Claire muttered. "It just seems... strange that you would be so nice to me and be so helpful..."

"It's just my way..." Blank told her. Blank looked over at her and saw how beautiful, even more beautiful then normal, she was when the moon showed her face. Blank never would have thought she was so kind and not so stuck up, but Blank shook any possible thought of him being with her out of his head. After all, it was him who said, "She isn't even my type..." but then again, he didn't really know her back then...

* * *

There's chapter three! How do you like it?

And that was my ridiculously corny and pathetic romance part... and, sadly for me, I will probably have to make more...

And thanks to wonwingangel for Garnet's name!

KEEP REVIEWING!


	4. The Mysterious Village, Dali

Disclaimer: I don't own final fantasy IX or any of it's characters.

I hope you've liked the previous chapter and this one.

Once you finish reading, PLEASE REVIEW!!!

* * *

Chapter Four: The Mysterious Village, Dali

The sun rose early, allowing the team to get an early start to Dali and, hopefully, find a way to get to Lindblum. The team traveled a long ways, fighting many large spider beasts and snakes along the way making Blank realize he was much stronger then when he originally started out. Blank could tell that the spider beasts were strong but he was able to battle them easily enough. Also, he was able to stand against a black mage, or waltz or whatever that voice called it, and a gigantic sealion at the same time.

They managed to cross the plain easily enough and reach the simple village fairly early, giving the team enough time to find a way to Lindblum early enough. "We're finally here!" Claire immediately exclaimed, stretching her arms.

"Yeah, it's been a long trip," Blank nodded. "But we're almost there, so it shouldn't be too much longer."

"Almost where?!" Steiner exclaimed. "I think it's time you tell us where your planning to take us!"

"..." Blank fell silent, and thought about the situation. "We're headed to Lindblum."

"Really?!" Claire cried, full of joy.

"Yeah," Blank nodded.

"Lindblum?" Steiner wondered. "... The regent wouldn't let terrorists in his kingdom..."

"I know," Blank sighed, rolling his eyes. "Now, if you tell _anyone_..."

"I shall do as the prin... missus asks!" Steiner exclaimed, rushing away from the team.

"Hey wait!" Blank shouted, but it was too late, Steiner was long gone.

"Do you know anything about this town, Blank?" Claire asked.

"I seem to remember it... but not that much," Blank answered. "I think there's a farm here, and most of the people work there."

"Huh..." Claire muttered, and walked away.

"Hey wait!" Blank shouted.

"What is it?" Claire asked.

"Where are you going?" Blank asked. "You can't just go walking off!"

"And why not?" Claire asked, then walked close to Blank, and whispered to him, "It's a good opportunity to learn how to speak like common villagers."

"I guess..." Blank sighed, and then she ran off, similar to Steiner. "Hey wait!" Blank shouted, but she, too, was long gone.

"... I think I'm going to look at the windmill," Vivi said, and began to walk away.

"Wait a minute, I wanna talk to you, Vivi," Blank said, and was able to stop the little mage.

"Alright," Vivi nodded, and walked over to Blank. "What is it?"

"I don't want to drag you deeper into this," Blank began. "Where do you live?"

"I live near Treno," Vivi answered.

"Oh..." Blank muttered. "That's a ways away still... Well, if you want to leave the group and head home, that's fine."

"I'll think about it," Vivi answered, and rushed off to the windmill.

"Aww geez..." Blank muttered. "I should probably find Claire..."

Just then, a man who had black hair that looked nearly identical to Blank's except it was thinner and he had a large retraining hairline on both corners of his forehead. The man had black pants with a long katana sheath attached to his belt, and a white undershirt and a long black overcoat. The man had a large scar diagonally across his face, right between his eyes (AN: the scar is supposed to look like Squall's from FF8), and had another scar on his left check.

The man walked up to Blank, standing about five inches taller then the thief, and then asked after a minute, "... would you be... Kyle?"

"Kyle?" Blank asked the man who looked vaguely familiar. "No, my name's Blank."

"Oh... sorry..." the man nodded, and then left the town.

"Weird..." Blank muttered, then ran off to find Claire.

He looked around and saw Vivi looking up at the windmill, but then the little mage turned and said "Hey Blank!"

"Hey, Vivi," Blank responded. "Have you seen Claire?"

"No," Vivi shook his head. "But I heard this... weird sound..."

"A weird sound?" Blank asked. "Like what?"

"A... kweh sound..." Vivi muttered.

"Chocobos make a kweh sound..." Blank told the mage. They were then silent a minute, trying to hear the sound, but the sound didn't come. "Well I gotta go..."

As soon as Blank left, Vivi heard the sound again, "Chocobo?!" and then a man ran up from behind the mage, and took him away.

Steiner walked through the woman and came across the local pub and he knew that pubs are prime sources of information, so he stepped inside. Once inside, a beautiful young woman, about the same age as Claire, looked up at the knight and asked, "May I help you?"

"Yes, I..." Steiner began but then noticed the woman seemed to be having trouble with a few boxes. "Uhh, may I help you with those boxes?"

"If you want to..." the young dutiful woman answered.

Claire walked through the town and reached the farm which only had one woman working in it. Claire looked around, to see if there was another farm where most the people worked, but couldn't find another one, so Claire walked up to the woman.

"Umm... what are you doing?" Claire asked.

"I'm killin' the bugs!" the old woman quickly answered.

_Killin' _Claire thought, making a mental note of it. "Why?"

"Why?!" the old woman cried. "'Cause the bugs eat the crops, that's why!"

"... oh..." Claire muttered.

"There's one now!" the old woman exclaimed, and a large bug, an oglop Claire remembered they were called, flew threw the air and Claire managed to catch it.

"Interesting..." Claire muttered, studying the bug.

"That's weird, most girls are afraid of oglops..." the old woman muttered.

_Blank told me to act like a normal girl_, Claire remembered. _Ok... on there... one... two... three!_ "AHH!" Claire shouted and threw the oglop up in the air, then ran away from the farm.

Blank finally reached the farm and, to his surprise, he found only one old woman working on the farm. _That's weird..._ Blank thought. _I thought there were more people working on the farm... and that it was way bigger... ... ... now that I think about it, the only adults I've seen is this woman, that guy who thought I was someone else... ... ... what's up with this town?_

"Another visitor?!" the old woman laughed. "You guys sure are strange!"

"Another? Strange?" Blank asked. "Did you see another visitor?"

"Yeah!" the woman nodded. "A weird girl. She ran off back to the town."

"Damn it..." Blank muttered, and rushed back to the town.

Claire walked through the town, and then stepped inside the item shop, in hopes that she might be able to hear a conversation. Inside, she saw some rare items up against the wall, but decided to act normal, and went up to the counter. "May I help you?" the woman at the counter asked.

"Umm... not really," Claire answered. "I would just like to... talk..."

"Talk?" the woman asked, as if not understanding it. "About what?"

"I do not know," Claire shrugged. "How about-"

"Auntie!" a little boy ran in.

"Kid!" the woman exclaimed. "Don't you see I'm with a customer?!"

"Oh, it is ok!" Garnet immediately said. "I can simply wait here!"

"Thank's lady!" the kid said. "So anyway-"

Blank walked through the town and couldn't find Claire, so he decided to head to the item shop and pick up some food and items. Blank walked in and saw Claire looking at some items on the wall, so he walked up to her. "Hey," Blank said.

Claire turned around and smiled at Blank, "Oh, hey Blank!"

"Wow!" Blank almost shouted, getting the owner's attention. Blank then whispered to Claire, "You're doing _great_!"

"Thanks," Claire grinned.

"How about you go get a room at the inn," Blank told her. "I'll get some items and get Vivi and Steiner."

"Oh, alright," Claire nodded, and then rushed out of the item shop.

Blank then went to the counter and sold the items he found in Ice Cavern, then ordered food and items and weapons that they may and probably will need eventually.

Steiner finally finished helping the dutiful young woman, and then said, "All work is complete!"

"Oh... ok," the young woman nodded.

"Anything else for me to do?" Steiner asked.

"No..." the woman nodded.

"Very well," Steiner nodded, then asked, "Where is your father? Or any other adults for that matter?"

"Most of the adults don't get back to the village until late," the woman answered. "And there is an old woman who works on the farm, but she isn't very friendly anymore. And there's a man who protects the village from monsters, but who knows how far away he is."

"Oh..." Steiner muttered. "Well, I need not ask an adult! I shall ask you! What methods of trade does this village have?"

"Um... I can't tell you..." the woman silently told them.

"Please!" Steiner begged. "I must send someone of importance to the castle!"

"Well... I suppose I can tell you then... some people cross the gate, but most people trade with the airship," the woman answered.

"An airship?" Steiner asked the young woman. "Is there any people who may tell me more about the airship?"

"An old man named Morid lives a little ways from the town," the young woman answered. "He can tell you more about the airship."

"Thank you!" Steiner saluted.

"No, thank you," the woman responded, and then Steiner rushed out of the pub.

Blank traveled around the town, checking at the windmill several times, and couldn't find Vivi or Steiner. _Where the hell are they?!_ Blank thought. _Well, I guess Claire and I could search for a way to Lindblum by ourselves..._

So, Blank headed back to the inn and saw a man who was asleep at his desk. Blank looked around, and saw a single door, so he walked up to it and knocked, and Claire quickly opened the door. Blank walked into the small room, which barely had enough room for the four beds, and they began their conversation.

"Where's Vivi?" Claire asked.

"Couldn't find him," Blank sighed.

"What about Steiner?" Claire asked once more.

"Couldn't find him, either," Blank shrugged.

"I'm worried about Vivi..." Claire muttered. "Steiner can take care of himself, but Vivi's just a kid..."

"I did tell Vivi that he could leave if he wanted," Blank told her. "He said he lived near Treno, and the gate outside fo the village brings you there."

"But you need a gate pass," Claire told him.

"Maybe he had one," Blank shrugged. "But, anyway, I was thinking that we could find a way through the gate ourselves."

"Do you have a plan?"

"Yeah," Blank chuckled. "The tantalus guys and I did this whenever we needed to get past security..."

"I need help!" Steiner shouted to the old man who lived in a small mountain right outside of the town.

"... looks like the air's right..." the old man muttered and began to travel down the mountain, and Steiner instantly followed, shouting that he needed help, but the old man ignored him. Steiner followed the old man down to the mountain and into a very small home. The man poured two cups of coffee, then asked "Coffee?" the old man offered Steiner a cup full of coffee.

"Oh, thank you," Steiner nodded and graciously took the cup of coffee and sipped from the cup which was delicious but Steiner then snapped back to his original quest. "This is not important! I must know, when is the airship coming?!"

"The airship's already here," the old man said.

"Oh... thank you!" Steiner exclaimed and saluted then rushed out of the very small home.

"And that's how we'll get past the guards!" Blank finished.

"Interesting," Claire nodded. "... I'm worried... let's try and find Steiner and Vivi again..."

"Good idea," Blank nodded, and they left from the inn. Blank and Claire walked through the little village until they reached the place where Vivi was standing. "I last saw Vivi here," Blank told the princess. "He said he heard a chocobo..."

Suddenly, they could hear whimpering.

"... I hear someone whimpering..." Claire told Blank.

"Yeah, me too..." Blank nodded, when they heard someone whimpering again. "... Vivi...?"

"Y-yeah..." the little mage whimpered.

"Where are you, Vivi?!" Blank shouted through a tube which he suspected where Vivi's voice was coming from.

"T-they took me underground and told me to stay quiet," Vivi whimpered.

"Terrible!" Claire exclaimed. "Who did this to you?!"

"Some adults from the village..." Vivi whimpered.

"Stay where you are, Vivi," Blank ordered. "We're coming."

"O-ok," Vivi responded.

"Let's go," Blank said, and they began searching the village for a way underground.

"I did think it was strange," Claire said. "There are only a few adults in the village..."

"I know," Blank nodded. "I thought that they all worked on the farm..."

"That little thing?" Claire asked.

"It was bigger..." Blank muttered. "But that had to have been a long time ago... anyway, let's check that building next to the windmill."

"Alright," Claire nodded. They walked into the right door of the building and saw a very suspicious circular thing in the ground. Blank walked over to it and easily lifted it, revealing the not-so-  
surprising entrance to what looked like an underground storage facility. Blank and Claire climbed down into the underground storage facility, and then went down a short hallway.

They then reached a new area that had a large barrel with a symbol that looked like a cross, and then a small shack where it sounded like some people were. Next to it was a chocobo surrounded by a fence and a well, that had a tube on the top of it that probably lead to the tube that Blank and Claire could hear Vivi out of. "What was it doing above there?" one man asked.

"I don't know," another man answered. "But who cares?"

While Blank was paying attention to the men, Claire was looking at the barrel, _this symbol..._ Claire thought.

"Should we put it in today's shipment?" another man asked.

"Of course," a man answered. "Now let's go." The men began walking out with someone who Blank and Claire immediately recognized to be Vivi.

"_Those bastards_!" Blank hissed and drew his sword, however, Claire grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. "Hey?! What are you doing?!"

When they were back in the hallway Claire explained, "Blank... please don't start a fight just yet..."

"What do you mean?" Blank asked. "They have Vivi!"

"I know... but those barrels..." Claire sighed. "They... have the symbol of Alexandria on them... so please don't do anything just yet..."

"Alright," Blank nodded. "But if Vivi gets in any trouble..."

"Alright, alright," Claire nodded. "But if Vivi gets in any trouble, I won't hesitate to start a fight..."

"I agree with that," Claire nodded. "I'll help if it comes to that... but only if it comes to that..."

"Alright," Blank nodded. "Now let's go." The two went back into the room, and then went further, where they saw many crates and boxes. The two made there way through when they saw a ghost that was blue and had a red top that looked almost like hair.

"What is _that_?!" Claire cried.

"An enemy!" Blank shouted and the two drew their weapons, when about three other appeared out of seemingly nowhere. Blank rushed up and chopped one with his mighty blade, but he could sense two more creeping up behind him, one on each side. Blank turned and cut one in half, however, he could then feel that another one was getting ready to set a spell. So, to try and prevent it, Blank quickly turned but he could see a fire ball heading towards him. He chopped it with his sword, and then the ghost was hit in the head with the thick end of Claire's staff.

Claire then hit it once more, making it fall, and then she jumped up and hit another one right in it's face. _Damn!_ Blank thought. _She has gotten good to... and beautiful... dammit Blank!!!_ Blank cursed to himself for even dreaming of being with the beautiful princess, as she destroyed another one of the ghosts.

"You're... getting good," Blank said, almost mesmerized by her beauty.

"Thanks," Claire grinned. "But, any skill I have I probably got from you."

"I don't know about that," Blank grinned, then shook his head, trying to stop himself from being like Zidane and flirt with a woman who is way out of his liege. "Let's keep going. Hopefully, Vivi won't be much further ahead."

"Let's hope," Claire agreed. "This place is starting to creep me out."

"Yeah," Blank nodded. The two then continued heading through the underground storage facility, where they saw some more crates and a strange machine that had eggs on it. "What is _that_?" Blank asked.

"I don't know..." Claire muttered when, suddenly, they could both hear whimpering. "Do you hear... whimpering?"

"Yeah..." Blank muttered, then, slightly louder, he said, "Vivi?"

"Blank?!" they could hear.

"Where are you?!" Blank shouted.

"I'm... in a crate..." Vivi answered.

"A crate?!" Blank asked.

Claire walked up to a crate and said, "I think he's in this one..."

Blank walked over and was able to tear off the cover of it and let the little black mage free. "Why did you let them do that to you?" Blank asked.

"I... didn't really have a choice..." Vivi sighed.

"You're a black mage!" Blank exclaimed. "You have awesome powers! You could take on a hundred of these villagers!"

"Y-yeah..." Vivi nodded. "But... they pushed me in..."

"Well... next time tell them off," Blank told the young, powerful mage. "Say like... get your hands off me! Or something like that... it empowers you and surprises your opponent."

_Get your hands off me?_ Claire memorized.

"A-alright, thanks," Vivi nodded.

"Don't worry about it," Blank shrugged. "Besides, you should thank Baku. He's the one who taught me."

"Oh... ok," Vivi nodded.

"Uhh... well, Vivi," Blank scratched the back of his head. "We kinda want to investigate a little more, so, if you want, you could go back to the inn..."

"No, no," Vivi instantly interrupted. "I wanna go further too. Like, what is that?!" Vivi asked, pointing to the eggs. "And behind the door, it looks like mist is coming out of it."

"Yeah," Blank nodded. "I guess then, if your sure you want to come, we should be going."

"Alright," Vivi and Claire nodded. The three then ventured over to the door, and after Blank was indeed certain that it was mist, Blank pushed the door open. And immediately they were attacked by four more ghosts.

Blank was hit by a surprise attack, as all four ghosts immediately tackled into him, however Claire and Vivi had more time to prepare. Claire immediately summoned a cure spell for Blank, and he stood once more and drew his sword, slicing through one of the ghosts. Vivi, meanwhile, called a blizzard spell on one of the ghosts, which made it immediately vanish to the next world, if there is one. Claire then smacked one of the ghosts down to the ground, and hit it once more time, making sure it would be finished.

Blank then sliced through the remaining demon, making it instantly vanish to whatever may be next. "That was... surprising..." Blank muttered.

"Yeah," Claire nodded, as a huge gust of mist bursted through the now open door. "Look at all this mist..."

"Geez... what's in there?" Blank asked.

"Let's find out," Vivi said.

"Alright," Blank nodded, and walked into the new room. This room was very small, or at least from what they could see through the mist. The three carefully walked through the room, and then saw a huge machine and mist pumped out of it.

"What is this?" Vivi asked.

"It looks like the mist machine on the Prima Vista..." Blank muttered.

"I don't understand..." Claire muttered. "Why would they need a mist machine in an underground storage facility?"

"... I don't think this is an ordinary storage facility..." Blank muttered.

"Let's keep going," Claire suggested. "I don't like this place..."

"Yeah," Vivi nodded. "I _really_ don't like this place..."

"Yeah," Blank nodded. "Let's get outta here."

The three left the room, and continued down the place and then saw eggs moving next to them on a conveyer belt, and moving further down the facility. "Are this eggs?" Claire asked.

"Yeah..." Blank nodded.

"What would they be making here?" Vivi shuddered.

"I heard that monsters are made out of the mist..." Blank muttered. "So... they might be making... monsters...?"

"Why?" Claire asked. "And what does this have to do with my mother?"

"I don't know..." Blank muttered. "Maybe we'll find out if we keep going..." So, the three continued when Blank heard a cracking noise, and he thought that the eggs might be cracking... if it's possible. The three then continued into the next room...

"W-what is this?!" Vivi exclaimed while he and Claire had their hands covering their mouths.

"Vivi..." Blank muttered, looking up at the dolls that looked nearly identically like Vivi. "What's going on?"

"M-mother..." Claire muttered. "W-what are you... trying to do?!"

Suddenly, Blank heard someone talking to another behind him, "Guys!" Blank harshly whispered. "We have to go! Someone's coming!"

"Wh-what should I do...?" Claire muttered.

"Sorry!" Blank exclaimed, he grabbed Vivi and Claire by the wrist and rushed them into some dome where the dolls where going to.

"Did you say somethin'?!" Blank, Claire, and Vivi heard someone say outside, while about three other voices responded, "no."

"How are we supposed to get out of here?" Claire asked Blank.

"I don't know," Blank responded. "I don't even know what's happening in here..."

"I think they're putting the..." Vivi muttered, seeming to try to find the right word. "The uhh... where they go into boxes..."

"Really?" Blank asked, and felt a little towards the center of the dome, where he felt something wooden pass by. When the next one came, the conveyer belt stopped, Blank felt and felt that the mages were being put into the box through the top, and then it continued going. "Alright," Blank said, "I have a plan, we'll get into these boxes and go into the next room. I'll go first, you guys come after me, ok?"

Blank couldn't see them, but he nearly felt them nodding their heads, so, when the next box, which Blank discovered was like a coffin that Vivi was in earlier, Blank leapt in. Blank closed his eyes, in hopes of being less noticeable, when he suddenly felt a plate of wood to fall on the top of the coffin, and then the conveyer belt continued. Blank felt the thing continue, stopping occasionally, until it fell off the conveyer belt and into something else that made a _chunk_ sound. After a while, he heard a few other _chunk _sounds outside of his coffin, until he heard someone hammering something. Eventually, the coffin, or, perhaps, whatever the coffin was inside, until it stopped once more...

"Ahh!" Steiner proclaimed, pointing towards the massive cargo ship a little ways ahead. "There is the cargo ship!" Steiner began rushing towards it, which was much closer to the town then he thought it would be, when some men who were working there went into some sort of door, which quickly shut behind them. Steiner shrugged it off, but found it strange once he rushed up to a large barrel that had an Alexandrian symbol on it. Steiner was about to walk past a barrel, then suddenly shook. "Wha..." Steiner muttered, examining the strange barrel. "This is certainly strange..."

Steiner continued examining the barrel when it shook another and he heard someone mumble something, but Steiner couldn't even dreaming of understanding what was spoken. Steiner, who was trained to be prepared for almost anything, drew his sword in a defensive position, expecting the people to leap from the barrel and possibly attack the knight. However, greatly to his surprise, Blank, Claire, and Vivi leapt out of the barrel, making Steiner stumble back.

"Steiner?" Claire asked, unsure why he had drew his sword and what he was doing there.

"Princess?!" Steiner exclaimed. "Just what is going on here?!"

"Her name's _Claire_!" Blank shouted.

"_What is going on_?!" Steiner shouted, jumping in frustration.

"We'll tell ya later," Blank told the knight. "Right now, we have to-"

"Stop right there!" Something cried out in the distance. Everyone leapt towards the voice's direction, and saw a black waltz, like the one Blank saw in Ice Cavern, except this one seemed younger and they all felt it was stronger.

"You?!" Blank shouted. "Th-this is a black waltz!"

"Are you the one who defeated number one?" the wizard asked. "It matters not, my power, magic, and speed is far superior to number one's! Now, release the princess and I shall return her to the castle!"

"It is I, Steiner, who shall bring the princess back to the castle!" Steiner bellowed.

"I do not care," the black waltz sneered. "I shall slay you all!"

Immediately, Blank, Vivi, and Claire drew their weapons as Steiner had, and Blank rushed up to the powerful waltz, and slashed him across his stomach, causing some black blood to leak through the shirt, which merely made the wizard laugh. Next, Vivi called upon his thunder spell, which lightly hit the black waltz.

"This is how you use thunder!" the black waltz bellowed, calling upon a much stronger thunder spell, which directly hit Vivi, making the little mage drop to the ground.

"Master Vivi!" Steiner shouted. "That... was inexcusable!" While Claire quickly summoned a cure spell, to help the little mage back up, Steiner rushed up to the wizard, and made a wound identical to the one Blank made, except in a slightly different area on his chest, which also made the wizard laugh.

"Steiner!" Vivi shouted. "I have an idea! I'll use the magic sword idea you had! But... it'll take a little while..."

"I can hold him off!" Blank shouted. Blank then instantly rushed up and, the black waltz realizing that it would be just him and Blank, decided to play with his opponent. Blank rushed up and attempted to stab the beast, however, using it's awesome swiftness, it flew back, and laughed. Blank tried again, only to get the same results.

"Your speed is nothing compared to mine!" the black mage laughed. "Hand over the princess to me!"

"Never!" Blank shouted, when he felt Claire casting a spell on him, which made him shin with a dull red glow (A/N: this is haste, just so you know, and I realize that she doesn't and never does have hast, but just go along with it). Blank, using quick newfound speed which certainly had something to do with the spell Claire cast on him, and was able to match the wizard's speed, and slice his stomach once more.

"Amazing," the wizard laughed. "You are now able to match my speed, but what of my power?!" Suddenly, he rose his hand high in the air, and a thick bolt of lightning, identical to the one he summoned on Vivi, struck Blank, making the thief stagger back, but not quite unconscious, and Claire quickly healed him with a cure.

"I'm ready!" Vivi cried.

"Excellent, master Vivi!" Steiner shouted, and rushed up to the mage. Steiner leapt in the air and rose his sword high in the air, and then Vivi used a fire ball appear in his hands. The fire ball collided with the top of Steiner's sword, making it glitter with fire, and then Steiner dug his sword into shoulder of the beast, and then the fire spell exploded within the black waltz, making him fall dead to the ground.

"How many of these are there?!" Steiner whined as the team put away their weapons.

"One more," Blank answered. "Someone told me tha-"

Just then, the waltz leapt back up and laughed, "You think a simple spell like that will defeat me?! Prepare to suffer my _true_ _power_!" The wizard rose his hands, and a huge ball of thunder appeared there. However, the wizard's eyes suddenly widened, as if surprised, and he looked down along with the rest of the team, to see a long and thin katana sticking through his stomach. "W-what is happening?! This _can't_ be happening! Princess!!!" the black waltz cried, when the thunder ball vanished, and the creature fell off the katana and to the ground.

Behind the now dead black waltz was the man who Blank recognized to be the man who mistook him for someone else when he first arrived in Dali. Immediately, the team redrew their weapons, realizing the power and skill of this man, and Blank called, "Who are you?! Friend or foe?!"

"That is up to you," the man said coolly. He wiped his katana against the ground, to get the strangely black blood off it, and then put it in his sheath. "Now," the man gazed at Claire, "You would be princess Garnet, correct?"

"I..." Claire mumbled.

"No," Blank quickly said. "Her name is Claire... she lives in Lindblum, so we're going to bring her back."

"Don't lie to me," the man said in his deep almost frightening voice. "You _are_ Princess Garnet... correct?"

"..." Steiner starred at the man. "I believe I know you from somewhere..."

"Who cares?!" the man impatiently responded. "I _know_ you are Princess Garnet! Now tell me, why are you going to Lindblum?!"

"It has nothing to do with you!" Blank shouted. "Now get the hell outta here!"

"You fool, I want to assist you," the man snarled. "Just explain to me why you wish to go to Lindblum!"

"I have to speak with the regent!" Claire shouted. "Now, who are you?"

"... My name is Felix," the man answered. "I protect Dali from the beasts that form from the mist. I, too, wish to go to Lindblum. And, in exchange for you letting me go with you, I shall protect the princess along the way."

"..." Blank looked at the man, unsure if he should be able to trust him or not, but then turning back to the princess, though never taking his eyes off the mysterious man. "What do you think, Claire?"

"I... if there's one more black waltz, more protection wouldn't hurt," Claire shrugged. "But I don't know if we can trust him."

"I believe we should bring him with," Steiner proclaimed. "He is powerful, and I shall keep an eye on him. Besides, I believe I know him from somewhere..."

"What about you, Vivi?" Blank asked.

"Umm..." Vivi muttered, when the engine on the huge cargo ship roared up.

"Decide!" the man bellowed. "May I come with you, or no?!"

"..." Blank starred at the man's dark eyes. "Alright, let's go!" Blank shouted and they quickly ran up to the ship and they all jumped on a ladder except for the princess. "Claire, come on!"

"No," Claire responded. "I think this ship is going to Alexandria!"

"I know," Blank responded. "But we have to hurry! Come on, I have it under control!"

"But..." the princess still stayed.

"Come on!" Blank shouted. "You have to trust me!"

The princess looked into Blank's... well his belt, I guess, and then nodded, "I trust you, Blank." The princess then jumped on the ladder and Blank quickly followed. They all went inside the cargo ship, where they all saw one of the black mage dolls, moving around!

"What...?" Vivi muttered. "Th-they're moving?!" They all looked shocked at the black mage, except for Felix, who didn't seem to care. "I-I'm going to go and try to talk to him!" Vivi proclaimed, and rushed over to the mage.

"Now what?" Felix asked. "Who are you people?"

"I'm Blank," Blank answered, then pointed to the rest of the team. "You have to call the princess _Claire_, the knight is Steiner, and the black mage is Vivi."

"I see..." the tall man muttered. "Now, what shall we do?"

"I'm going to go talk to the pilot," Blank said, beginning to walk to the ladder that was across the ship.

"I-I shall assist you!" Steiner exclaimed, quickly following him.

"What about Felix?" Blank asked.

The monster hunter sighed, and took off his katana sheath with the katana inside and tossed it to Blank. "There, now you don't have to worry about me killing the prin... Claire or anything," the man sighed.

"Alright," Blank nodded. "Let's go, Steiner."

However, just then, the little mage returned, looking down at his feet. "Master Vivi..." Steiner muttered. "What is the matter?"

"It's... the mage..." Vivi muttered. "He... wouldn't talk to me... he barely even noticed me..."

"Sorry Vivi," Blank told the little mage, getting down on his knee so he was eye level with him. "Maybe the next one will talk..."

"Yeah..." Vivi muttered.

"Come on, Steiner," Blank said as he stood back up. "We have to hurry."

"Yes, of course," Steiner nodded. The two then began to walk across the airship, passing the mage who didn't notice either of them, and Blank briefly looked out the window. _Oh damn! I forgot to write to them!_ Blank cursed at himself. _...I wonder if they're even at Lindblum yet..._

Blank shrugged the idea off, and then climbed the ladder to the upper deck. Once up top, Steiner laughed, "You fool! This ship is going to Alexandria!" the knight then stood in front of the ladder. "Now I won't allow you to speak to the others about it!"

"Whatever," Blank mumbled, walking over to the control station. Blank stepped in, seeing a couple mages inside, and then asked, "Uhh... could you pilot us to Lindblum?"

The pilot mage didn't responded, and only kept his face forward.

"Well then..." Blank muttered, hoping he wouldn't have to use force. "Could _I_ pilot us to Lindblum?"

The mage stepped out of the way, letting go of the controls that made the airship lightly jerk, so Blank quickly jumped up and grabbed the wheel, "Thanks!" Blank exclaimed, and spun the ship around and towards Lindblum.

"What the?!" Steiner shouted from outside the cockpit, seeing Blank at the controls. Steiner rushed inside the cockpit and shouted, "What are you doing?!"

"I'm going to Lindblum," Blank calmly responded, which only made Steiner madder.

"How dare you?!" the knight yelled, then turned to the black mages. "I'm terribly sorry, I will get this _fool_ out of the cockpit!"

"I just doing what Claire wants to do!" Blank shouted at the knight, making him look down.

"Y-you lie... you're kidnaping her!" Steiner shouted.

"If you think that, then ask her yourself!" Blank shouted to the knight, making him even madder, especially when he noticed that Claire, Vivi, and Felix were now on the deck of the airship.

"Curse you!" Steiner shouted as the other three walked in.

"What's going on?" Claire asked. "I'm piloting the ship to-"

"He's stealing this airship too!" Steiner shouted. "And, princess, he claims that you-"

However, before Steiner could finish his statement, a huge black waltz, taller, buffer and, they could all fell, stronger then number two, landed on the airship.

"Is that a black waltz?!" Felix shouted, then turned to Blank. "My katana!"

Blank quickly handed it to him, and then drew his own sword and turned to Steiner, "Stand here and yell at us all you want! But we're going to get that black waltz!"

"I-I'm going too!" Vivi shouted, pulling out his staff.

"But... very well!" Steiner shouted, pulling out his sword. "I shall help you!"

Felix, Steiner, and Vivi quickly ran out to the deck, and Blank turned to Claire and said, "Just keep going strait, eventually you'll see the South Gate, which will hopefully open for you!"

"Ok," Claire nodded, taking the wheel as Blank ran on the deck. "Good luck!"

When Blank reached the other three, the might wizard bellowed and they could literally see thunder zap around his body, "So, the princess's guards have joined! Good, now I can defeat you all at once and then reclaim the princess!"

"No way!" Blank shouted, running towards the black waltz, but stopped, seeing that many of the black mages on the ship, went in front of the four to protect them.

"What's going on?!" Vivi asked to no one in specific.

"What are you fools doing?!" the black waltz bellowed. "You wish to protect them? Very well, die!" The might wizard pointed the palm of his hand towards the mages that have gathered, and beams of thunder flew from it and hit the mages dead on, causing many of them to fall off the cargo ship.

"No!" Vivi cried. "Why did you do that?!"

"Ally or not," Steiner shouted, "That was harsh!"

"I'm sick of you!" Vivi cried. "I _hate_ you!" Just then, Vivi was surrounded by a reddish glow, and they all knew that the little mage was in trance.

"Prepare to die!" Felix shouted.

Vivi immediately shot several balls of fire into the black waltz's chest, which seemed to barely effect him. Blank, Steiner, and Felix all at once ran up and slashed the beast's right arm, left leg, and chest, making him curse as black blood dripped from his new wounds. "You damned fools!" the black waltz shouted. "I shall destroy you all!" The wizard then called a huge ball of thunder, even larger then the one black waltz number two called before he died, and threw it towards the team. However, Vivi, still locked in trance, made a ball of thunder nearly as large, and the two collided, making a huge blast between the wizard and the team.

During the confusion, Felix rushed back up to the black waltz and made many more wounds to the beast's chest, causing it to fall down to the ground. "Curse you!" the waltz bellowed, getting back up and spreading his wings. "I shall slay you all!" The wizard then leapt off the ship, and Blank, Felix, and Steiner all ran back into the cockpit, while Vivi was looking at one of the mage's hat that was on the deck of the ship.

"You're doing really good, Claire," Blank complemented.

"Now turn the airship around!" Steiner shouted. "The princess wants to go back to the castle this instant so-"

"Steiner," Claire interrupted. "Thank you."

The knight, shocked by the thanks, bent down on one knee and bowed his head, "Such words... I am not worthy!"

"And," Claire continued. "I do not intend on returning to the castle, until I am done with my business in Lindblum."

"... Very well, princess," the knight responded, standing up once more and saluting. "I vow to protect you until we return to the castle!"

Blank chuckled but Claire, seeming very serious, responded, "Very well, Steiner."

"Guys!" Felix shouted, looking behind the airship. "The black waltz is following us in some kind of cruiser ship!"

"What?!" Blank exclaimed, looking out behind the airship, to see that, indeed, the black waltz was following them. "Damn it!"

"Princess!" Steiner shouted. "We must turn around and head towards the castle!"

"Are you crazy?!" Blank shouted. "We have to go through the gate, and hopefully, it'll close, leaving the black waltz behind us!"

"Alright," Claire nodded, rapidly increasing the speed.

Blank looked around, making sure they were all safe, when he saw Vivi out on the deck, sadly looking over one of the hats that the black mages wore. Blank rushed out onto the deck, hearing Felix mutter "fool!" but Blank ignored it and grabbed Vivi's shoulder.

"Come on, Vivi!" Blank shouted. "We have to go back!"

"But..." Vivi muttered, but seemed willingly enough to move. But, by then, the black waltz caught up with the cargo ship, and flew right next to Vivi and Blank. Blank looked ahead and saw that the gate was beginning to close, and knew that, unless they did something, the black waltz would be able to go through with them.

Vivi, glaring at the wizard, summoned his strongest fire spell, and shot it at the might wizard, making his little airship go hurtling back. Then, the cargo ship passed through the gate, and the wizard was left out.

* * *

That was chapter four!

I know it was long, but what are you going to do? Also, I know the battle with the black waltz was different, but I really wanted to end the chapter.

PLEASE REVIEW!!!

Also, once they get into Lindblum, the story really begins to change, so stay tuned!


	5. The Grand Castle, Lindblum

Disclaimer: I don't own final fantasy IX or any of it's characters.

I hope you've liked the previous chapter and this one.

Once you finish reading, PLEASE REVIEW!!!

Chapter Five: The Grand Castle, Lindblum

The cargo ship's engine was worn and loudly clattered the rest of the way through the Falcon's Gate, which entered directly into the gigantic entrance bay of the grand castle. Blank, who had taken over the controls once they entered the Falcon's Gate, since properly landing an airship took skill, especially in such a large and expensive bay. Once they landed, some of the Lindblum soldiers, who were garbed in a white uniform and all had large spears, dropped a sort of drawbridge onto the airship, allowing them to safely enter the humongous airship bay, which was the pride and joy of the Lindblum castle, though it was surprisingly empty.

"What is your purpose for being here?" one guard immediately asked.

"I'm am princess Garnet Til Alexandrios," Claire immediately answered, stepping forward and showing her pendant, that had the symbol of Alexandria. "I have come to speak to Regent Cid."

"What is this?" one soldier muttered, grabbing the pendant.

"Is it the Falcon Claw?" another soldier asked, examining the pendant.

"No, no, it's a little different..." the first soldier responded. "Call Artania!"

A third soldier quickly rushed out of the airship bay, while Steiner seemed mesmerized by the gigantic bay. "Wow..." the knight muttered. "Even the queen's Red Rose could easily fit in here!"

"Of course," Felix responded. "Lindblum is well known for it's technology, specifically in airships."

"Yeah," Blank nodded. "The weird thing is... where are all the airships? It seems so... empty here..."

"Indeed," Felix agreed.

"Here she is," a soldier, who came with an elderly man with a dark gray hair and goatee and wore an official uniform of Lindblum.

Claire instantly ran up to the man, crying, "Uncle Artania!"

"Princess Garnet!" the man smiled, then turned to the soldiers. "You may go back to your positions, I shall take care of this."

"Yes, Minister Artania!" The soldiers saluted, and ran off.

"Princess Garnet!" the minister said. "We were expecting you!"

"Expecting...?" Claire wondered, looking back at Blank, who grinned. The team then followed Artania past the main hallway, and into an elevator which was guarded by a soldier, clearly watching for any people who wouldn't be allowed. The guard sneered at Blank and Vivi as he they walked by, Blank barely noticed, having being looked at quiet often for his stitches and mismatched skin, but Vivi looked back and, realizing that the man was angry, looked down at his feet.

Once they reached the elevator, the minister pressed a button labeled Upper Level, and the minister began to explain the castle. "You see, this castle is split into three levels," Artania explained. "The upper level is where the regent resides, so it is heavily guarded. The middle level consists of the guest bedrooms, airship docks, as you saw, and the entrance to the town proper. And, the bottom level consists of our docks, which are now rarely used thanks to the great invention of aircrafts, and our Dragon Gate, which is always closed unless absolutely necessary, or if our Chocobo Knights (A/N: you may remember these from Final Fantasy X, and they're the same as that... which I don't own) search the area for powerful beasts, if necessary."

"Are the Chocobo Knights really so necessary?" Blank asked. "With all the airship technology, are they really still needed?"

"Of course," Artania instantly responded. "As you know, the mist generates powerful monsters, and our Chocobo Knights prevent them from getting any stronger."

"I see..." Blank nodded.

"Say, you're one of the Tantalus members, right?" Artania asked Blank.

"Yeah, why?" Blank asked.

"What happened to the rest of the members? Specifically Baku?"

"I don't know," Blank shrugged. "I was kinda hopin' they were here already..."

"I'm sorry, but they aren't," Artania responded. "I heard your airship crashed in Evil Forest, did the rest of the men make it out?"

"Well... Baku told me to help Zidane, who left the group to help the princess," Blank answered. "As we were escaping from the forest, Zidane was petrified by the forest somehow. I know the rest of the guys got out of the forest, I sent them a message, but I don't know anything else after that."

"I hope they are alright," Artania mumbled. "Baku sure had some good men under him..."

"I wouldn't worry too much," Blank responded. "I plan to find them, now that I completed the mission."

"That would be most wise," the minister responded. "And I'm sure the regent will send some troops along with you."

"It's alright, I can find em myself," Blank responded.

"Uncle," Claire said. "How is the regent?"

Artania turned and put his hand on his chin, "He... well... you will see..."

"What do you mean?" Claire pondered.

"As I said," Artania responded. "Also, Blank, Vivi, and Felix, I would like to hear of your adventure with the princess, while the regent speaks with the princess."

"Actually," Felix spoke in his deep almost frightening voice. "I would like to speak with the regent as well. There are terrible things Alexandria is plotting."

Claire looked down to her feet, taking the blame on himself, so Blank put his hand on her shoulder and whispered into her ear, "It's alright, Claire, you did the best you could."

"Thank you, Blank," Claire responded so silently, Blank could barely hear her.

"I am sorry, master Felix," Artania told the former beast hunter of Dali. "But, for the safety of the regent, I shall have to speak with you about the village."

"What about me?" Steiner asked. "I shall go with the princess to see the regent, correct?"

"Yes, master Steiner," the minister replied. "I do not expect the princess to be separated from her knight."

"I see, thank you minister," Steiner slightly bowed.

"It is quite all right, Master Steiner."

"Are you sure there is no way of me speaking with the regent?" Felix asked once more. "I have vital information about what is happening in Dali."

"Unless you are a knight or of another high official," the minister responded. "I shall judge your information."

"Actually, sire," Felix replied. "I once, long ago, was a knight of Alexandria."

"You were...?" Steiner muttered. "Perhaps that is where I know you..."

"As I once was a knight, perhaps I would be able to speak with the regent," Felix inquired once more, ignoring the knight.

"I shall ask the regent," Artania said. "Though I doubt it would be suitable."

"Please try," Felix responded. "I must tell the regent something dreadfully important... perhaps something that will end a _war_ before it begins."

"..." the minister looked into Felix's cold almond eyes. "Very well, Master Felix, I shall allow you to speak with the regent."

"Good," Felix nodded, and, almost as if on cue, the elevator stopped and had finally reached the top floor of the Grand Castle.

"Please follow me," the minister said, and walked out of the elevator and immediately several soldiers rushed up to the crew. "Ah, yes, you must give these men your weapons," the minister told them. "It's for the protection of the king."

"Of course," Felix nodded, and took of his long, thin sheath and handed it to one of the soldiers, like the rest of the team.

"Alright," the minister continued once the new men were unarmed. "Please, follow me." The team followed the minister beyond a short hallway and into a grand lobby-like room with a large door at the top of a staircase, two staircases in fact, both went up from the sides of the room, and another door downstairs. "Master Blank and Master Vivi," the minister said. "Please go into the lower door, I shall be with you momentarily."

"Alright," Blank nodded, giving one last look to Claire who thinly smiled, and then he and Vivi went into the door, which had a large table in it and a strange throne like thing with no chair.

"Princess, Master Steiner, and Master Felix," Artania continued. "Please follow me up the stairs."

"Very well..." Claire silently muttered.

They followed the minister up the left staircase, and into the large door, where the large throne is, but, to everyone's surprise, there was no king on it, but an...

"O-OGLOP!!!" Steiner shouted.

"Relax, Master Steiner!" Artania shouted, stopping the knight from every hurting the oglop. "You _are_ before the king!"

"Wh-what?" Steiner asked. "You jest, surely..."

"He does not!" the oglop shouted.

"What... that mustache..." Claire muttered. "Uncle Cid?!"

"Yes..." the regent muttered.

"Hmm..." Felix slightly chuckled. "So this is the mighty regent of Lindblum..."

"Silence!" Cid shouted. "Whom are you anyway? I know the princess and Steiner... but I have no recollection of you..."

"My name is Felix," the former knight responded, and fell to his knee. "A former knight of Alexandria, and former beast hunter of Dali."

"I see..." the regent responded.

"They have urgent secrets of Alexandria to tell you," the minister told the regent.

"What must you tell?" Cid asked.

"Let Felix speak first," the princess said. "He probably knows the most about the dealings in Dali."

"Very well," the regent responded. "Speak, Felix."

"Very well," the man sighed and stood. "It was about... a year ago when a representative of Alexandria came from the capital to Dali and gave us the option of making weapons for the kingdom. The mayor took a vote on it and, greedy as he was, didn't take into much consideration of the people's votes. Anyway, they decided to build the underground factory, where they built the 'weapons', which were similar to the black mage like Vivi. Anyway, as they were making them, we had a huge farm, that an old woman, the mayor's brother, when he had the chance, and myself to work. However, one time a black mage escaped the facility somehow and burnt down most of the farm, except for a very small portion. I'm not sure if the mayor did that himself, or if it truly was an accident, but I suppose I shall never know..."

"How powerful would you say the mage was?" the regent asked.

"Extremely powerful," Felix responded. "I truly believe that the mage easily would have been able to destroy the entire farm, if not the entire _village_ on it's own."

"I see..." the regent muttered. "Continue..."

"Anyhow, I was able to defeat the mage, since he seemed focused on the farm," Felix explained. "And it took several of the villagers, who were still in the upper village, took get ride of the fire. However, what was left of the farm, was just enough for the old woman to tend to. I really think it was a plot to get the rest of us to work on the weapons, but none of us did, and we all split off and did different jobs. A couple of times I visited the factory," Felix said in almost a whisper, "I don't know how they did it... but they seemed to be making the black mages out of... mist..."

"Mist?" the minister asked.

"Yes," Felix nodded. "And, I fear, that if Alexandria knows how to use the mist for her own purposes... I think she could easily take the continent by force..."

"I see..." the regent replied, with a hint of worry in his voice. "Is that all you have to tell?"

"..." Felix was silent a moment. "I have one question... though it's a little off the subject..."

"Very well," the regent responded. "You may never have the chance to ask the question again, so you may as well now."

"That... blue moon of your- ours," the former beast hunter. "How long has that... been there...?"

"Sure you know," the regent said. "You _must_ have been around when it arrived."

"Yes... I just... forgot," the man muttered.

"Well... it's been around for about... thirty years," the regent said. "If you want to know more about it, you should visit our libraries and speak with some of our scholars there."

"Very well, thank you regent," Felix nodded. "May I be excused?"

"Yes," Artania nodded, "but go into the room with Blank and Vivi. I would still like a word with you."

"Very well," Felix nodded. "I hope you may live long, regent."

"Thank you, Felix," Cid nodded, though you could barely tell on his oglop body. "May you live long as well."

Felix nodded once more and left the room, the regent then turned to Claire, "It is getting late and I'm sure you're tired and hungry," Cid told her. "I wish to dine with Blank and the others, with you too, of course, and would like that to be tonight. So, how about we talk in the morning?"

"Um... alright," Claire nodded.

"I realize that you may have very important things to tell me, and they would be very important," Cid told her, making her slightly smile. "However, we will talk tomorrow, alright?"

"... Very well..." Claire muttered.

"Now, minister," the regent turned to Artania. "Go speak with the others."

"Yes, regent," the minister nodded. "But, one thing first... it seems Master Blank wishes to go find Baku and his crew..."

The regent was nodding, knowing the question, "Of course send some troops with him. There are far too many beasts roaming the land these days."

"Very well, regent," Artania bowed and then left the room.

"Princess," Cid began. "Please go to the guest bedroom and rest there. We shall have a high security watch for you."

"Oh..." Claire muttered. "Ok..."

"Geez..." Blank muttered, being very bored for having to wait so long for the minister. "Where is Artania?"

"Maybe Felix had a lot to tell," Vivi shrugged.

"Maybe..." Blank muttered, then turned to Vivi. "Hey, what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?" Vivi asked.

"I mean, how are you going to get home?" Blank asked.

"I don't know..."

"Well, if you want, I could bring you home while I search for the other guys of Tantalus."

"Oh, are you sure you want me?"

"Of course! A black mage like you has great powers!"

"Yeah... but..." Vivi muttered looking down at his feet. "With the black waltz and... the... other mages... why do you think you can trust me?"

"What are you talking about Vivi?" Blank asked. "Those weren't you! They're... well..."

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Felix walked in and sat down, not making eye contact with any of the two.

"What's keeping Artania?" Blank asked.

"Claire might still tell her story," Felix responded. "If that's the case... it still might be a while..."

"Oh..." Blank muttered, and then was silent for a little while. "What are you going to do, now that you're here in Lindblum?"

"I don't know," Felix shrugged. "I'll probably try and be a beast hunter here, too."

"Sorry, but they don't need it," Blank told the man. "They have huge walls covering the entire kingdom! And the only entrance is guarded by several of soldiers."

"..." Felix was quiet a minute then turned to Blank. "Why do you care?"

"Well I-" Felix began, but then Artania came in.

"Thank you for waiting," Artania said and walked up to the end of the table. "Now... what do you have to tell me?"

"Well..." Blank muttered. "Do you want me to tell you about the mission, or just Dali?"

"Tell me the entire mission," the minister responded. "I believe Felix has already told us enough about the factory in Dali."

"Alright," Blank nodded. "Well..."

Blank began to tell of their journey, starting with Tantalus on the Prima Vista heading to Alexandria, and how Claire actually wanted to be captured. He told through the Evil Forest and Zidane's petrification, and how they visited the nearly destroyed South Gate, and how they went through Ice Cavern, and ending with telling about the black waltzes.

"I see..." the minister muttered. "So... they not only create black mages, but also black _waltzes_..."

"Yeah," Blank nodded.

"Interesting..." the minister said, then turned to Vivi, who has been _very_ quiet. "Do you have anything to share, Master Vivi?"

"N-no," Vivi quietly responded.

"Very well, then," the minister said, then looked back at the group. "Now, you must _not_ tell any of the civilians or Alexandrians about this. I would hate for anyone to worry."

"Alright," Blank nodded, along with Felix and Vivi.

"Good," Artania smiled. "Now then, Blank, I believe you said that you wish to go help Baku and Tantalus, correct?"

"Yeah," Blank nodded. "Vivi's going to help me too."

"No need," Artania shook his head. "We shall send some soldiers with you-"

"Nonsense," Felix immediately interrupted. "You need every soldier you can get to guard the town. I can go with Blank to help his friends."

"..." Artania was silent a moment, but then nodded. "Well... if that's really what you want..."

"Yeah," Blank agreed. "Besides, Baku would _kill_ me if I needed the help of soldiers to get him."

"... If that's what you want..." Artania responded. "But first, we wish to dine with you all, the princess and Master Steiner will be there as well."

"Sure," Blank nodded.

Vivi grinned and put his hand on his stomach, "I'm starved!"

"Good," Artania smiled. "The meal will be ready shortly, please stay seated."

"Alright," Blank nodded as Artania left.

Shortly after, Claire and Steiner walked into the room, Claire immediately walked over to Blank and sat down, after Steiner pulled out her chair, and Steiner sat next to her. "So, Blank," Claire smiled to her former capturer. "I hear you are planning to go help Tantalus, right?"

"Yeah," Blank nodded. "I hope they don't _need_ my help, but I'm gonna go help em anyway."

"Alright," Claire nodded and smiled, but Blank could feel a hint of sadness behind the smile. But, then again, who wouldn't be sad if they found out that their mother was making black mages and is more then likely planning to use them for war?

"Tis foolishness!" Steiner proclaimed. "If he helps them, they will merely come capture you again, Princess!"

"Calm down, Steiner," Claire sighed, which slightly angered Steiner, but he immediately obeyed. "I hope you have good luck, Blank."

"I hope you do to," Blank told her. "You're the one who really needs it. Tantalus could probably make it here themselves, but you are needed to help a _war_."

To this, Claire looked down, saddened.

"Hey, sorry," Blank responded.

"It's ok," Claire sighed. "It is... the truth..."

"Yeah well..." Blank responded, feeling guilty as any man would who made her sad. "If you ever need my help... or Tantalus's, just tell me and I'm sure we'll all help any way we can."

"Thank you, Blank," Claire responded, looking happily into his eyes with her own slightly water glazed eyes.

"It's... alright..." Blank responded. Once, in fact not even ten minutes ago, he had been glad that he finally reached Lindblum, but now he wished their journey together would have been longer.

"Here's your dinner!" the minister proclaimed, walking into the room with several chefs behind him carrying delicious food that made all the people sitting around the table's, except Felix who joined their team to late to eat anything that was as disgusting as their own diet, mouth drool, even Claire, though she quickly wiped it off.

The chefs quickly put the meals on the table which included pork, chicken, beef, steak, and many more delicious meat and foods. The team quickly ate their food, specifically the vegetable that the king offered them, as they haven't eaten vegetables for about three days, and their body craved it. Once they had finished, which wasn't much after they had begun eating, the chefs took the many left overs off the table and out of the room, and Artania stood up.

"Now then," Artania begun. "I'm sure you're all very tired from your journey, and it has gotten late, so I have rented a room in the local inn for Master Blank, Felix, and Vivi, while Claire shall stay in the castle, understood?"

"Yeah, sure," Blank nodded.

"Also, I suggest that if you leave to find Baku tomorrow, that you leave early tomorrow," Artania told the young thief.

"Why?" Felix asked.

"The festival of the hunt is tomorrow," a voice from above said. And, above the place where the strange throne with no chair was a thing lowered, and a throne appeared there, and, on the throne, was an oglop.

"What the?!" Blank exclaimed. "What's an oglop doing on the throne?!"

"Someone attacked the castle," Cid explained. "They turned me into an oglop and captured my wife and stole my newest airship, the Hilda Garde 1."

"Oh geez..." Blank muttered and turned to Artania, not really wanting to look foolish by talking to an oglop. "Does Baku know?"

"Baku does, in fact, know," Cid answered. "He and I go way back. He may be a thief, but I trust him more then I do some of my most trusted knights."

"Oh..." Blank responded. "Anyway, the festival of the hunt is tomorrow?"

"Yes," Cid nodded. "I would love to see you perform in battle, but if you must try and find Baku..."

"Of course I'll fight!" Blank exclaimed. "Baku always said 'go after every treasure you can get' so I'm gonna fight."

"Excellent!" Cid proclaimed, and, although no one could tell, he smiled. "What of you, Master Vivi?"

"I... uhh..." Vivi stammered.

"You should try, Vivi," Blank told him. "With your magic, you should be able to defeat the beasts easily!"

"Well... ok..." Vivi muttered.

"What about you, Master Felix?" the king asked. "Since you are no longer a knight, you may battle in the tournament."

"I shall think about it," Felix responded.

"What are you afraid to lose to me?" Blank grinned.

"I'm afraid to make you look like a fool," Felix answered the proud young thief.

Blank sighed.

"I shall just watch," Felix told the oglop king.

"I _did_ wish to see your power... but I suppose it's alright," the king sighed.

"Well, shall I escort you to the inn?" Artania asked.

"We can go ourselves," Blank told the minister.

"Very well," Artania shrugged.

The three went to the inn and rested fairly comfortable for the night. Once the sun rose, Blank sat from his bed and saw that Felix was no longer here, and that Vivi had just gotten up and it looked like he was about to leave.

"Hey Vivi," Blank said, causing the little mage to look back at him.

"Morning, Blank," Vivi responded.

"Where ya goin?" Blank asked the little, but powerful, black mage.

"I'm going to look around Lindblum," Vivi answered. "I don't think I've ever been in such a big place..."

"Want me to go with ya? I know Lindblum better then the back of my hand."

"N-no, I would rather look around myself," Vivi stammered.

"Whatever, but we should probably meet back at the castle later on, alright?"

"Sure," Vivi nodded then left.

"Well... first I should see if Tantalus is back yet, which I doubt," Blank sighed. "Then I... guess I'll see if the blacksmith has something new. Then I'll get back to the castle and see if I can get Vivi home safely without dragging him along for too long." He could tell that, during their journey, Vivi was pretty slow and he could remember that he could see sweat dripping down his forehead and deeply breathing before Blank barely even begun to slow down, well, except for the fact he would have left the rest of the group in the dust had he walked as fast as he wished. But, then again, that's understandable if you didn't exercise regularly, or if you were a magician, who naturally are physically weak and still didn't exercise.

Blank got dressed into his black jeans and white muscle shirt and left the inn and entered the aircabs. Blank never really liked the aircabs, the only good thing about them was that he and the guys could easily rob people on the cabs, since there was no one else around. Normally, he and the guys would jump out of the cabs right before it arrived in the station, so the person they mugged wouldn't be able to get them arrested by the guards at the stations.

Once Rune reached the Theater Station, he went to the secret thievery base, which was also the base for Tantalus which was not only their thievery name but also their acting name. Blank himself thought this was a foolish idea, as people might find out that the great thieves were called Tantalus and they would connect it to the acting band, but he couldn't change the name, but once Baku quits, which he _isn't_ looking forward to, Marcus would be in charge and he would probably change one of the names.

As Blank suspected, no one was in the base, and it was just as he remembered it three days ago. He then sighed and left the base, as thinking of it made him think of Zidane and the rest of the guys, but mostly Zidane, since he _knows_ Zidane is gone for the time being. Blank soon found himself running from the hideout, and, before he knew it, he was on a aircab back to the industrial district.

Blank regained his upright stature and walked to the blacksmith, and was surprised to see the old man, who was the sole owner before he had left on what may have been his greatest journey yet, was accompanied by a younger man, who was clearly his son. "You need to keep these weapons in the fire longer!" the old man shouted as Blank walked in. "They won't make a good weapon if they're not in long enough!"

"I know, I know," the young man sighed and rolled his eyes. "Be quiet for a minute! We gotta costumer!" the young man then looked at Rune, "can I help you?"

"Yeah... you got any good weapons?" Blank asked the young man.

"Well... are best is easily this one," the young man rose a blade that was much longer than Blank's own and easily sharper. "This was used by some of the earlier knights. They relied on it's weight to kill the enemies more than it's sharpness."

"How much?" Blank immediately asked.

"Ten thousand gil," the young man answered after glancing at the sword for a minute.

"Alright, I'll go get the cash and be right back," Blank giddily nodded and rushed out of the building. Of course he wasn't going to pay for it, that was why he had spent so long perfecting the art of thievery, but he had to find a way to do it. _Let's see here..._ Blank thought. _I need to get them out of there..._ Blank looked around and then saw a dog barking wildly at everything, that was when Blank's plan was clear.

"_Help!!!_" A woman cried as a dog ran like a rapid beast. "_Heeeellllppp!!!"_

"What's going on outside?!" the old man in the weapon shop shouted at the younger man.

"I dunno!" the young man shouted back and rushed outside. "_Oh my!!!_" the young man ran back and picked up the first weapon he saw. "_There's some beast running around chasing people!!!_"

"_What the-!_" the old man cried, grabbing the first weapon he saw as well and followed the young man outside.

The second after they had left, Blank stealthily slipped in through the window and grasped the weapon, along with a few daggers he could slip into the large black bag he brought with him. He learned that the young man was not kidding about the weight of the blade, it really was heavy, and, Blank feared, that he would have to train with it before the festival.

Once the peace has been restored in the Industrial District and the mutt had been killed by the young man (afterwards he was yelled at by the his father that he was dragged outside while the store was mugged). Anyway, Blank then went another, poorer weapon shop and sold the daggers he stole, claiming that he was a merchant, and then decided to finally retire to the castle.

Once he got to the castle, he saw a group of the guards running frantically around the castle along with Steiner who ran up to him. "You!" Steiner exclaimed pointing his accusing finger at him. "What did you do with her?!"

"Do what with who?!" Blank shouted back, but he already knew what he was accusing and about whom.

"The princess is missing," Vivi calmly responded.

"I'm willing to bet it was _you_ who captured her!" Steiner shouted at Blank. "_Again_!"

"I wasn't me!" Blank shouted back. "Now are you going to yell at me, or are you going to help me find her?!"

"Come on, Mr. Steiner," Vivi said, slightly pleading. "Let's find her."

"No need," Felix announced from another room. "Steiner and I shall search the castle. Blank, you and Vivi should go and prepare for the tournament. It isn't _your_ job to protect the princess."

Blank sneered, then glared at the man, "I'm going with you! I brought her, along with the rest of you, all the way here! I think I'm a little more than an acquaintance!"

"Why would you want to help us?" Felix asked, crossing his arms over his chest, then rose one eyebrow. "Do you want to be with her?"

"_Wh-wh-wh-what_?!?!" Steiner shouted.

"No, no, no!" Blank shook his head. "It's just a nice thing to do, is all."

"That best be the reason!" Steiner shouted, then turned to Felix. "Let us go, Sir Felix! We shall find the princess much before this foolish thief!"

Steiner then rushed behind Felix, while he just glared at Blank. "Well, I suppose that we shan't be on a team. For now. Good luck, Blank." Felix then turned and calmly walked off with Steiner.

"Man, I _hate_ that guy!" Blank cried.

"Well... what do we do?" Vivi asked.

"You go off and search the town," Blank told the little mage. "I'll stay here and search the castle."

"A-alright," Vivi nodded and began to run off, but then Blank called him back. "Yeah?"

"Take some gil," Blank then handed over a couple of coins. "Buy yourself a new staff or something."

"Thanks," Vivi smiled, then ran off to the aircabs.

Blank then began to search the floor of the castle, the guest room, under the staircase, he even managed to sneak behind the guard and search the airdocks, but she wasn't there either.

"Dammit..." Blank muttered and he snuck past the guard and back to the castle proper. "Where is she?"

"Perhaps you'll need to use some of thievery skills," Blank heard someone say behind him.

Blank turned and saw that Felix was standing behind him. "What do you mean? And why aren't you with Steiner?"

"Steiner's a fool," Felix responded without hesitation. "And I mean the skills you just used to get into the airdocks. Perhaps you'll need to get upstairs."

Blank would have easily tried it, had it not been this man. This man who made him look like a fool, a weakling, and an idiot. "Why are you helping me?"

"You... remind me of someone," Felix answered. "Now I'd hurry, Steiner's trying to get a permit to go upstairs, it won't take him long to get it."

Blank nodded in response and rushed back to where all the soldiers were running rampant except for one guard who stood in front of the elevator. Blank looked around for a way to distract him, but one naturally happened instead. Felix rushed in and ran up to the elevator guard and commanded the soldier to follow him. At first he tried to fight back, but Felix forced him and, as he ran by Blank, Blank noticed his almond eyes looking directly at his belt, searching for his eyes.

Blank was perplexed, but he quickly rushed into the guardless elevator and went to the upper floor. Here, Blank heard a soft voice singing from a higher floor, so Blank followed the voice until he reached an upper balcony with a large telescope. Here he found the gorgeous princess singing with all the doves hovering around her. However, with Blank's appearance, the doves flew away, and Claire turned back and saw the young thief standing there.

"How did you get here?" Claire asked.

"I was hoping you knew me better," Blank told her. "I can get wherever I want. It just takes a little training."

"Oh, of course," the princess looked down. "I suppose you could get anywhere you want..."

"..." Blank walked closer to her, but didn't dare touching her. "You... alright?"

"..." Claire was silent a moment. "I-I am fine..."

"No you aren't. It's your mother, isn't it?"

"Of course..." Claire said, and Blank saw a tear slid down her cheek. "Why... would she do this?!"

Claire looked up to Blank with her eyes full of water, and Blank then did hold her close without even realizing it. Instead of fighting away, like he thought she would do, she embraced it, and held him tight across his stomach, bawling. Blank then put his hand up against the back of her head, rubbing her beautiful silky black hair. "It's alright, Claire," Blank whispered into her ear. "I know how bad it may seem. But I'm certain that it's better then it might seem. I'm sure Cid will take care of it, if it is as bad as you think."

"He is so good!" she bawled. "He is great at that! He knows how to do it so well!"

"Well of course he does. It's the job he's been doing all his life, if he didn't know how to do it, he wouldn't be the regent."

"I... I suppose..." Claire said, and Blank could feel that her eyes were beginning to dry. The two then separated and Claire looked lovingly into Blank's eyes. He felt so, well, hot. He had been in this situation many times before, afterwards he would use the woman and then maybe be with her a little while longer, but afterwards they would more than likely break up. But she was a princess, specifically Claire, and he could never do this to her. "Th-thanks, Blank," the princess said, drying her eyes from any water that remained.

"No problem," Blank grinned, but then decided to change the subject so nothing more would happen and making things more confusing. "Uhh... this is a great view isn't it?"

"Yes, it truly is," Claire smiled at him.

"Princess!" Blank could hear Steiner cry.

_Dammit!_ Blank thought.

"I'm up here, Steiner!" the princess called.

Steiner and Felix then rushed up their stairs and found the princess and Blank. "You!" Steiner shouted. "Why didn't you bring the princess down?!"

"I just found her," Blank shrugged.

"I doubt that! I think you-!" Steiner began.

"Steiner!" Claire shouted putting her arms to her hips.

"... Sorry, Princess," Steiner sighed, already getting yelled at for yelling at Blank so many times, it seemed that he was used to getting yelled at.

"Let's all go downstairs," Felix told the team. "We should prepare for the festival of the hunt."

"Right," Blank nodded, realizing that he didn't get anytime to train with his new weapon.

"Let's go," Claire proposed, and the team went downstairs.

About ten minutes later...

The team was gathered in the guest room, with one guard speaking, "Blank, the... actor, shall receive ten thousand gil if he should win. Vivi, the black mage, shall receive a... card if he should win. And Freya, the dragon knight, shall receive a weapon if she should win. Is this correct?"

The two nodded, but no one named Freya nodded. "Who's Freya?" Blank asked. "No one else is here."

"I am terribly sorry I'm late," a Burmecian woman said. She had a rat like face and a long red coat and a red hat similar to Vivi's when's it erect, if red. She was very tall, a little taller than Felix, but Burmecian are generally very tall and Blank wasn't surprised by her clothing either, as, to Blank at least, they all seemed slightly dark. The name Freya seemed similar to Blank, it was Zidane he heard the name from, but at the time he couldn't quite remember. "I'm Freya, and that's right."

"Good," the guard said. "Now, go to the districts and prepare for fights.

THANKS FOR READING AND PLEASE!!! REVIEW!!!

I'm sorry it took so long to update, but my computer crashed and it took forever to get my internet to work as it should.

PLEASE KEEP READING AND REVIEWING!!!


	6. Terror in Burmecia

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of it's characters.

I hope you like the chapter and all the other chapters

PLEASE REVIEW!!!

Chapter Six: Terror in Burmecia

* * *

Blank rushed as quickly as he could to the theater district, as he didn't want to be late to the festival of the hunt... again.

Once, about two years ago or so, Blank participated in the festival of the hunt against Zidane, Marcus, and Cinna, to prove himself. They probably fought about something or another, but it doesn't really matter. Either way, they all participated in the hunt, however none of them claimed victory. It was a dragon knight from Burmecia, he was supposed to be some great warrior, so Blank and the rest of the guys didn't feel to bad about themselves. Either way, for some reason, Blank proved what he wanted to prove, maybe he got as many points as he said he would or something like that, but he succeeded, however he barely succeeded. He was late to the business district, which is where he was supposed to start, due to a very beautiful woman he saw, and probably barely was able to claim victory.

Anyway, this time Blank quickly jumped off of the aircab and ran out into the theater district. He saw a fang chasing a mu, so he went after the fang first, as it would give him the most points. Blank pulled out his new sword out of the sheath on his back, it was still a little heavy so he kept his regular sword attached to his side, just in case. Blank pulled his sword high in the air and it flew down and smashed the fang in the skull, causing blood to immediately explode out of the beast's head.

Blank grinned, until the mu who the fang had been chasing leapt and struck Blank's back, causing him to fall forward, and barely dodge the fang's corpse. Blank then quickly pulled out his regular sword and tried to slice the beast, but it had leapt away right out of his reach. Blank then flipped back up, and jumped at the mu, surprising it into a state of paralysis, and Blank then swiped the mu's head off. Blank rushed back and picked up his large new sword, when he saw a large purple bird that he was unfamiliar with.

But he didn't care, all he knew was that it was an enemy, and that he was supposed to kill it. The bird swooped down at Blank at a speed Blank hadn't suspected, giving him barely any time to dodge out of the way, but he managed to do it. Blank then turned and saw the bird ready to swing down again, and so he swung down his older sword, and the beast swooped right into the blade.

"LEADING WITH 20 POINTS," a voice boomed across the city, "BLANK!"

Blank grinned, until the announcer immediately corrected himself, "NOW, LEADING WITH 22 POINTS, RANDALL!"

Blank frowned but then rushed down closer to the Tantalus hide out, where he saw another fang emerge from a play area a little deeper in the theater district. The fang leapt at Blank, but he was only meet by the end of Blank's sword, and his blood flew in just about every direction, including Blank's white t-shirt. Blank was a little dismayed, but didn't care the least, as he then rushed out of the theater district and into the industrial district.

In the industrial district, Blank cut through two mus, three fangs, and another one of those purple birds. Afterwards, Blank headed to the business district, where he first killed a mu and a purple bird, then, after seeing Vivi running from a fang, killed a fang, then heard two high pitched screams. Blank immediately rushed to the source and he saw two kids trapped by a huge zaghnol, a gigantic beast with reddish fur and resembled a bull.

_What's a zaghnol doing here?!_ Blank thought, but then decided the time for thinking of those things was past. Blank rushed into action, pulling out his new, heavy sword and sliced the beast's belly, however drew little blood. The beat then turned and faced the thief, and it seemed to blank like he was an ant about to go into combat against an elephant. Blank pulled his sword out in front of him, in a defensive position, hoping it might make the beast have second thoughts about attacking Blank.

However, it didn't.

The zaghnol roared and charged at Blank, the ground trembled under the hooves of the raging beast, and Blank felt the urge to flee, but then remembered the sole purpose he came to the zaghnol, and the reason he still stood there now. The kids. The two young kids, one boy and another a girl, both probably less than seven. Blank couldn't turn his back on them now, he had to fight this fearsome beast.

Blank leapt out of the way, and the beast skidded to a halt and turned to face Blank once more. It looked like he was about to charge once more, when suddenly the titan screeched in pain, and Blank could see an electrical charge squirming through the beast's body. The beast then turned to face his new opponent, meanwhile, Blank rushed up and stabbed the beast in the back with his heavy blade, making it roar in pain once more, and he turned and faced Blank again.

This time, the beast seemed to give _himself_ an electrical charge, and it didn't seem to hurt him the least. Blank was completely confused by this strange gesture, but then he instantly saw why. Another bolt of lightning flew and hit the creature, however, this time, it didn't seem to hurt him, but instead _heal_ him. The beast then charged at Blank, who had been too confused to move at the time, and Blank realized that he was now a sitting duck. However, very fortunately, a spear flew down from what seemed like the heavens, and then came down Freya, the Burmecian woman he had meet at the castle.

However, the beast seemed to take this effect the same as Blank's slice, it was still fairly weak. Freya then leapt off, and landed next to Blank. "Can you fight?" the dragon knight asked.

"Yeah," Blank nodded.

"I suggest we attack at the same time," Freya said. "Before he strikes, understood?"

"Alright," Blank agreed, pulling his heavy blade up in front of him. "On three. One... two... THREE!!!"

Blank and Freya then both charged at the beast, however, in their run, Freya leapt up in the air. _She left me for dead_, Blank angrily thought. _No time to stop running now!_ So, Blank continued his run, and the zaghnol, knowing that Blank was going to try and kill him, began to stamped towards him once more. However, when the zaghnol was no less than six feet away, a spear flew down from the sky, striking the beast's back, making it roar in pain. Then, Blank saw a fireball strike the back of the monster, and finally, Blank sliced his sword through the zaghnol's neck, causing it to tumble to the ground.

Freya then landed on the ground and pulled her spear from the beast's back, then Blank turned to congratulate Vivi for helping them attack, but instead saw a different mage there. This mage was wearing a long red overcoat that was currently unbuttoned, revealing black pants and a belt, that held the sheath of what looked like a short sword, and a black muscle shirt. He wore a red hat almost identical to Freya's except it didn't have large dragon ears sticking out of the sides of it and long black hair that nearly reached his shoulders dangled beneath it.

"Who... who are you?" Blank asked.

"I'm-" the mage began, but then was interrupted.

"ONCE AGAIN LEADING WITH 213 POINTS..." the announcer called. "BLANK! REMEMBER FOLKS, THERE'S ONLY 1 MINUTE AND 16 SECONDS REMAINING UNTIL THE TIME'S UP! TRY AND BEAT BLANK'S SCORE!"

Instantly, the mage rushed away, and so Blank turned back to Freya. "Hmpf," the dragon knight muttered. "So you get all the points."

"Yeah," Blank grinned, though he tried to hide it. "I did, after all, deliver the finishing blow."

"I suppose," Freya muttered, then turned. "Where did those kids go?"

"Kids..." Blank muttered then remembered them, in the heat of battle it is easy to forget _some_ things. "I dunno. I'll find em, you can go fight."

"Very well," the dragon knight nodded, then held her staff to her side. "Farewell." She then disappeared into the skies once more.

_I need her to teach that to me_, Blank thought, then shook the subject out of his head. Blank walked back to where they were cornered and called, "Kids?! You here?!"

"We're over here!" a young child called, and Blank hurried to the source, worrying that he may have been to late in his arrival. Once he came to the source, which was a very thin alley that Blank himself could barely squeeze through, he saw the young girl crying, holding her arm, and the boy stood above her, bitting his fingernails. "Whaddo we do?!" the boy cried as the girl bawled.

Blank was a little worried at first, but then bent down next to the girl and pulled a potion out of his pocket. Blank made sure the girl drank it all and she willingly did, despite it's bitter taste, and almost immediately it began it's magic. The girl still cried, but not nearly as much as before, and she took her hand off of her arm. Blank could see that it was all swelled up and could have been a broken bone and an infection. Blank knew potions couldn't tend broken bones, but they could make them feel slightly better and could almost definitely heal that infection, if Blank was right about it.

And it seemed Blank was, the swelling began to fade away, slowly at first, but then fairly quickly, ending up into a bruise. She still seemed to be in pain, however, so Blank guessed that it was a broken arm, so he lifted her up, and rushed out of the alley, with the boy trailing shortly behind him. Blank went up to the closest door, which was also the medicinal shop, and kicked at it and then called, "Hey! Anyone in here?!"

Almost immediately, he heard a feminine voice reply, "Are there any beasts out there?"

Blank glanced around, though he didn't need to, as he knew that there weren't any. "No," he responded. "Please hurry!"

Almost immediately the door burst open, revealing a fairly young girl, maybe about the age of Claire, or maybe a year older, with auburn hair and green eyes. She was wearing a white button up shirt that had a patch sewed on that said, 'Welcome To Allie's' then claimed, 'I'm Allie!' Immediately, Blank recognized Allie and he's sure she would have recognized him had he not been holding a crying girl.

"Hurry in, hurry in," Allie said, clearing the way as Blank and the boy rushed in. Blank set the girl on the counter, making sure her arm was in the most comfortable condition it could be in, then turned back to the door. "Where are you going, Blank?!" the woman cried. "What did you do to this young girl?!"

Blank turned back, hoping he wouldn't have been remembered but he obviously was, and sighed and turned to face Allie, Ruby's sister. "I didn't do anything!" Blank said. "Listen, I'll talk to in a bit, alright!"

"Oh fine," she huffed, putting her hands on her waist. "But you'd better come back after the hunt."

"Yeah, alright," Blank nodded and rushed out. _Just like her sister_, Blank thought then slightly chuckled. _At least Ruby wasn't in the crash... I just hope she isn't in trouble over in Alexandria..._

About a year and a half ago, shortly after Ruby had joined the acting troupe, she and Blank went out on a date. The two immediately hit it off and had been dating for... well, they dated until they began planning for the kidnap of Claire, about a month before it actually happened. Blank was very happy being with her, especially when night came, and maybe he really did love Ruby. However, one great night that turned to a terrible night in a hurry, he had gotten drunk. He and the guys had just succeeded robbing this rich guy who lived in Treno, and after pulling in over 1000 gil, which they accomplished, they would always go down to the bar and have a drink or two on Baku. However, this specific night was the finals for the hunting competition, and it was the theater district's Reno verses the business district's Rude. You see, in all nations, specifically Lindblum as it was founded by hunters, hunting was a very, very popular sport. And this was the final competition.

So, the boys decided to hang around a little while, and during the course, they all got very drunk, except for Marcus, who was choose not to drink too much as he didn't want a hang over, and Baku, who already suffered from hangovers enough and didn't want another one. Reno of theater district won, and so the boys got even drunker. Then Blank, happy not only because they won hunting tournament but also because they got much richer in a single night, decided to celebrate with Ruby. So, he staggered over to Ruby's apartment, which was shared with Allie, Ruby's sister.

In his drunkenness, Blank mistook Allie to be Ruby, and so he had, according to Allie and Blank couldn't defend himself as he had no recollection of the evening, slept with her. Blank woke up the next morning not only with the worst hangover of his life, but with Allie and Ruby standing above him, both glaring down at him from their couch. In the end, Ruby seemed to forgive Blank, but still broke up with him, and Allie continued to hate Blank, and would probably hate him even more once she realized that Ruby was still in Alexandria.

Blank loathed that night, and wanted his Ruby back, and perhaps he still did, but he had gotten over her, as she seemed to have gotten over him as well. However he still thinks that Ruby wants him back as he wants her back, but nothing may come of it. He had made, according to Allie, the most foolish mistake a man could, but he had no one to blame but himself... well, alcohol as well, for being so addicting. After that night, Blank had never drunk a beer, but he thinks he will sooner or later, just not as much as he would to get a hangover.

As soon as Blank ran back into the aircab station, the announcer spoke once more, "THE WINNER IS... BLANK! WITH AN ALL TIME HIGH OF 212!" Blank grinned, and then took the aircab to the castle.

* * *

Once they had gotten back, Regent Cid congratulated Blank and give him the Master Hunter award and 10,000 gil. Blank grinned, and Steiner, though angry that Blank had won, applauded him along with the rest of the team and Freya.

Just then, the young mage who was wearing all red and assisted Blank and Freya when they fought the zaghnol walked in, looking down at his black boots. "Ahh, Randall," Cid looked over at the boy. "How did you do?"

The mage sighed and took another step, "Not as good as I was hoping..."

"Oh hey!" Blank exclaimed. "It's you!"

"Hmm?" the boy muttered as he glanced over at Blank. "Ahh yes, the one who defeated the zaghnol. You must be Blank, correct?"

"Yeah," Blank nodded, and pointed and Freya. "And that's Freya."

"Yes," the mage nodded. "Nice too meet you once again."

Blank then turned to Vivi, "Hey, Vivi, he's a black mage too, just like you!"

"Black mage?" the young man asked. "Oh no, I am not a black mage, though I am not surprised at your thought. You only saw me use my black magic, however I also use white magic."

"Wha..." Blank muttered, then looked at Cid for answered, however Claire answered before the regent could.

"He's a red mage," Claire answered, looking at the boy. "They're sort of a... jack of all trades, I suppose."

"Indeed," the young man, Randall, smiled.

"He is my advisor to be," Cid explained.

"But... I thought people who worked in the castle couldn't participate in the hunt," Blank said.

"Yes, but he doesn't work for me just yet," Cid said, making the boy look down. "His training is nearly complete, and he should be finishing shortly. Actually, had he won this year's hunt, he would have become my advisor."

"Aww geez," Blank muttered, looking at Randall, then back at Cid. "Well, he did help me take down the zaghnol... if that counts."

"I know what he did," Cid said. "I was watching him and yourself through the entire hunt, and I truly did expect him to win. However, Blank, your skill seemed to claim victory in the end."

"I... suppose..." Blank muttered, feeling sorry for causing Randall to lose his job opportunity.

"Anyways, it is now time for our annual feast!" Cid proclaimed. "Bring on the-"

"Sire!" a voice called from outside the doors. The voice was raspy and was very dry, sounding as if the owner of the voice hadn't had a drink for years. The doors then burst open and, instead of seeing some strong man who had the ability to burst the doors open, the being was crawling through the door. Actually, it was just a Burmecian knight, perhaps a dragon knight like Freya, he had wounds all over his body and the man's eyes were closed, and, from the look of it, it seemed permanent.

Immediately Artania leaped in front of the oglop regent, and whispered, "Hide regent, I'll hold him back."

"Look at him closely, Artania," Cid whispered and stepped in front of him. "A wound has blinded him," Cid then spoke louder, "Speak, soldier."

"Oh regent...!" the knight begged. "They... they're in the... Gizamaluke's Grotto... mages... black mages... pointy... hats..."

"Pointy... hates?" Claire mumbled. "Black mages...?"

"Headed... towards..." the Burmecian continued. "Bur...me... ... ..."

"No!" Freya exclaimed and rushed to his side. "You can't!"

"Call a medic!" Cid ordered Artania.

"It's too late..." Freya mumbled. "He's... dead."

"Oh... I'm sorry," Cid muttered.

"Sire!" Randall exclaimed. "We must go to Gizamaluke's Grotto! We must stop them from reaching Burmecia!"

"Silence, Randall," Cid commanded. "You must think your plans through more clearly, we lost too many soldiers in the festival of the hunt. The only way we could even try to strike the people in the grotto, is by starving those inside of the grotto."

"And it goes against rule 12 in the Leon Code..." Randall muttered. "We could hide from them and once they come out, we strike."

"It is possible," Cid announced. "But I believe that it would be hard to hide a few airships, besides it could still be considered under rule 12."

"... I guess..." Randall muttered. "But... then what do we do? We can't just leave them there to die!"

"We'll take the airships to Burmecia," Cid explained. "We'll wait for them there."

"But, sire," the minister began. "What about the watch on Alexandria?"

"We'll have to surrender that," Cid sighed. "Burmecia is our ally, and we must not lose allies at this time."

"I must go to Burmecia!" Freya exclaimed.

"The chocobo knights!" Randall exclaimed. "We'll send the chocobo knights! Freya can go with them!"

"I'm going too!" Blank exclaimed.

"But Blank," Felix began. "What of your friends? What of Tantalus?"

"They can fight against some monsters," Blank explained. "But I don't know if Burmecia can stand against the Alexandrian army."

"I suppose..." Felix muttered. "I guess I shall go as well."

"M-Me too..." Vivi said, slightly whimpering. "I want to see the mages..."

"Why?" Freya asked. "Why would you risk your life for foreigners?"

"This is a war," Blank answered. "I can't let Alexandria conquer the world..."

To this, Claire looked down, but then bobbed her head up and announced, "I'm going too!"

"What?!" Steiner exclaimed. "Never! Princess, this is a war! A war is dangerous!"

"I know that!" the princess said, putting her hands on her hips. "But, if mother is behind the attack, she may be at Burmecia!"

"That is true," Blank said. "But I don't think you should come."

"Come on!" Claire cried. "They would never expect me to travel with a small group of soldiers!"

"That's why it's even worse!" Felix exclaimed. "They may accidently kill you!"

"But... please..." Claire begged, clasping her hands together as if she were praying. "I... I have to end this war..."

"This war isn't your fault," Blank told her. "You can't blame yourself for it. It... it's not your fault."

"Thank you, Blank," Claire thanked him. "But... I still must try to resolve this war. My mother is the reason for this rule, and I must do all I can to stop the war."

"I suppose... if Blank and Steiner were to stay back and specifically protect her..." Felix muttered.

"I would never trust the princess with that _bandit_!" Steiner exclaimed.

"Then I'll go with you!" Randall exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Freya said. "You must help the people here."

"I can not, they need not my help... however, I have a plan!" Randall exclaimed. "I lead the attack on the Alexandrians here. It'll prove that I can become a great advisor!"

"Very well," the regent nodded in approval. "Is everyone else alright with that?"

"That's fine!" Freya exclaimed. "Now please! We must hurry!"

"Of course!" the regent exclaimed, then turned to Artania. "Get the chocobo knights, and open the Dragon Gate!"

"Yes sir!" Artania saluted, and rushed out of the room.

"Well then..." the regent said. "It will take time for the chocobo knights to get prepared and for the Dragon Gate to get open. Shall we feast?"

Everyone looked over at Freya, knowing that she would have the choice here. Inside, Freya was having a hard choice, she could just begin running to Burmecia, back to the place she vowed never to return, the place where her love, Fratley, had left. He vowed to return, but she only heard rumors of his death, it had been three years since she had last seen him.

"_When Burmecia is in trouble, I shall return,"_ Fratley had once said, and the voice echoed through her mind and she felt even more of an urge to flee to Burmecia, in case Fratley had finally returned. However, she was a dragon knight, perhaps the greatest in Burmecia since Fratley had... dare she think it? She was a dragon knight and she knew that she must think through options first, and riding on a chocobo would be much faster, even if you left later.

"We can feast..." Freya finally spoke.

"Thank you, Miss Freya," Cid slightly bowed. "We shall feast!"

So, they had eaten their feast, which was quite delicious however Blank noticed Freya hadn't eaten much, but would he if he learned Lindblum was in attack and he was in another nation eating? No, no he would not eat much at all. Afterwards, they went down to the Dragon Gate where Blank saw ten chocobo knights, these were knights, most of which holding arrows so they would be able to attack while still moving, but they all had a sheath on their hip as well. They were all well protected, almost as well protected as Steiner but it probably equaled out as they had decent armor, and looked like they were ready to strike at any time.

Randall, the red mage, had made extra sure that they had everything they needed, extra weapons, many medicinal items, and extra armor. Randall struck Blank as a very responsible person, and probably had the potential of one day becoming a great advisor for the Lindblum kingdom. Blank decided that he would make extra sure that Randall always ends up alright, however Freya didn't seem to like him. But Blank understood why, she thought Randall was taking this battle, this _war_, as just another test. And it did seem that way, but this is a great way to initiate a new advisor for Cid.

Then, after Randall checked all their equipment about ten times, they were off.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it

PLEASE REVIEW!!!

A/N: I don't own ff10 either... this is for the chocobo knights, I thought that a group of four wouldn't stand against an army...

Anyway... thanks for those of you who reviewed and for those who didn't... DO!!!


	7. Gizamaluke's Grotto

Hey, Welcome back to chapter 7!!!

PLEASE REVIEW ONCE YOU'RE DONE READING!!!

Chapter 7: Gizamaluke's Grotto

The first day, they had walked for three hours before the sky began to darken. Freya, though against resting and desperately wanting to continue to Burmecia, agreed to stop then, know that the night belongs to beasts. They had set up a watch, two of the chocobo knights watched from 9 to 11, two others watched from 11 to 1, then the final two chocobo knights watched from 1 to 3, and then Blank, Felix, and Randall watched from 3 to 5, and, finally, Vivi, Steiner, and Freya watched from 5 to 7. With this arrangement, which was proposed by Randall, no one got too little sleep and still they could watch through the whole night.

During the first night, they came across two foes, both of which were weak and the team fighting them didn't manage to wake up the others. They continued traveling again at about 7:10 when everyone was ready to continue their travels. Thanks to the speed of the chocobos, they managed to reach the grotto at 8:00 however, they decided, again by Randall's influence, that they eat before they go inside, so that they wouldn't fight on an empty stomach.

The chocobo knights made an excellent breakfast, however no one ate much, even Steiner, who almost always seemed to eat a lot. The smell of blood even reached their party, and, from their distance, they could barely see the entrance of the grotto. Actually, they couldn't at all, but they could see a small cloud of smoke coming from what they assumed was Gizamaluke's grotto. They threw away the leftover food away, and there was quite a bit of the leftovers, as no one had the nerve to eat.

So, they then continued traveling for about ten minutes when they reached the grotto, and Freya jumped off her chocobo and bowed in front of the entrance. "Uhh, Freya," Blank began.

"I only pray Burmecia isn't this bad..." Freya said and Blank could has sworn he saw a tear fall from her face.

"Let's go," Felix commanded.

"Hey, hey, hey," Randall said, slowing him a little. "We have to plan!"

"Very well," Felix responded. "Blank, Freya, Vivi, the chocobo knights and myself will go in. You, Steiner, and Claire can stay out here. We'll call you in when it's cleared."

"Hey wait!" Claire announced. "I can fight!"

"Yes, but princess," Felix said, walking up to her, making her step back in a little fear. She trusted Felix, perhaps trusted him almost as much as she trusted Blank, but Felix scared her very much. She remembered when they meet him, and how he finished off the second black waltz and probably could have defeated the third black waltz by himself. And, what frightened Claire the most, was that it seemed that he was restraining his power, it seemed like he was holding back his true power. "The Alexandrian soldiers will be after you," Felix continued. "If they find you... well... who knows what'll happen."

"I... I guess..." Claire responded, too frightened to make a comeback.

"All right, good," Randall declared. "And also be sure to get rid of most of them, or at least all of the ones you can find."

"Of course," Blank nodded.

"Let's see here... Freya, would you like to lead the attack here?" Randall asked, and Freya then stood.

She supposed she would know the most about the grotto, having traveled through it and protected it as a dragon knight several times. She knew close to everything there is to know about the grotto, and that would lead to a great advantage. However, it seemed even Master Gizamaluke couldn't stand against these soldiers, and if he couldn't why would they be able to? She had seen Gizamaluke battle once or twice and one time he had been up against twenty soldiers from a rebel fraction from Treno. Freya and Fratley had been sent there to assist them, however Gizamaluke killed each one of them in a single swing of his long serpent body.

Freya still remembered how surprised she and Fratley had been, and she remembered the look on Fratley's face when they had witnessed it. Well, if they _did_ manage to take down Master Gizamaluke, he surely took down several of the soldiers with him. So, hopefully, that would mean that there wouldn't be too many of these soldiers left, and Freya intended to kill them all, each and every one of these mage bastards.

"Well Freya?" Randall asked. "Will you lead your group into the grotto?"

"..." Freya thought for a moment, then finally answered, "If that is what you wish, it is the least I can do to repay the favor of your assistance."

"Thank you, Freya," Randall called. "Now, be careful! I don't want to lose any lives out here!"

"What about the chocobos?" Felix asked.

"What about them?" Randall asked, then, after a moment thought that Felix allowed, Randall uttered a silent chuckle at his own foolishness, however Blank was still slightly confused. "Ahh, yes, I understand now. The chocobos, unfortunately, will have to stay out here... I suppose they would know their way back to Lindblum, correct?"

"Yes sir," the chocobo knights saluted, and dismounted their chocobos, along with Blank and the rest. "Chocobo! Lindblum!"

Immediately, all the chocobos turned and rushed off towards Lindblum.

"Now, are we all ready?" Randall asked.

"Yeah," Blank nodded, then pulled out his new sword. His new sword seemed much lighter now since the previous night, when he was on guard duty, his was training a little with Randall and Felix. They trained with their sheaths on, so the clangs of the swords wouldn't wake the others, and they got some great training.

"Then go!" Randall exclaimed.

Their weapons drawn, Blank took a deep breath and they all went into the grotto. Instantly, the smell of blood intensified, they thought it was horrible before, but now it was at least ten times worse. Blank noticed Vivi cover his mouth and nose with his left hand while his staff was in the other. Freya and Felix, however, seemed to not even notice the smell, which almost frightened. Blank supposed there were two types of people, people like Vivi, who would weaken their defenses to be able to stand in a place, and people like Freya and Felix, who were strong enough to act like they didn't even notice it. Blank guessed he was in the middle for now, he noticed the smell, and he's certain others would have been able to see that, however he was strong enough to refrain himself from covering his nose and mouth.

They stepped in and the team walked up to a large door that was covered in blood with a bell in the center. "Everyone ready?" Blank asked, however he didn't bother getting a response, as he knew they should all be ready. Blank pounded on the door, however, he merely hurt his shoulder as the door didn't even seem to shake. "What the..." Blank muttered, then tried pushing up against it, again to no avail. "Hey Freya how do ya-" Blank then turned, but saw that Freya was not there.

"Where's Freya?!" Vivi cried.

"She's right back there," Felix said, pointing to a short hallway, and Blank and Vivi both then saw Freya. "You should be more alert."

Blank grumbled, his hatred for Felix growing. Felix was a great warrior indeed, but he didn't have to be such a jerk about everything. Blank walked over to Freya and saw he crouched over a dead soldier. "You... alright?" Blank asked.

"Yes..." Freya muttered, then stood. "You can not open the door by force, it's a security thing. It makes me wonder how the Alexandrians got in..."

"How are we supposed to get in?" Vivi asked.

"We'll get in the same way the Alexandrians did," Blank answered. "We just have to find out how they got in..."

"No need," Freya responded, then pulled a bell out of her pocket. "The soldier gave it to me. It's how you open the doors."

"Oh..." Blank muttered. Then, to his surprise, Freya handed him the bell.

"I... don't want to be the team leader anymore," Freya told him.

"But... why?" Blank asked.

"It... doesn't feel right," Freya slowly responded. "Fratley was always the team leader... He was such a good leader too... I don't think I'll be able to do it..."

"Alright but... why me?" Blank asked.

"You were the leader before you reached Lindblum, right?" Freya asked, looking up at him.

"Well..." Blank muttered, then realized that he _was_ the team leader then. "I... guess..."

"So, you can do it..." Freya muttered. "Or Felix, or Vivi, I don't care, I just don't want to be the leader..."

"Alright," Blank nodded. "Do you... want to wait outside with the others?"

"No," Freya immediately answered. "The least I can do is fight the remaining soldiers."

"Alright, let's go." Blank then walked up to the strange door with the bell, and, still slightly confused what to do, rung the bell, and the bell on the door rung as well. The bell in Blank's hand then shattered, and the pieces all fell to the ground, and large door swung open.

Immediately, they heard screams, and Freya rushed in, jumping in front of the other warriors. However, she jumped in just in time to see mages blow up three Burmecian soldiers, and then they all leapt down on the small path in front of Freya. Freya pulled out her spear, and stabbed the first mage, making it utter a short scream, then Freya harshly swung her staff and the body flew off and hit one of his mage companions.

"What is she doing?!" a jester cried.

"Killing the mages she is!" another jester shouted.

"She is another Burmecian rat!"

"Another Burmecian rat she is!"

Then, they both cried, "Mages! Get her!"

Freya then slashed the last mage with her spear, and then two others leapt in front of her and three leapt behind her. Freya circled around looking at all the mages, then struck on in front of her, and, as she felt the heat of a fire spell forming behind her, she turned and saw Felix and Blank both strike a mage down each, and saw Vivi shoot a fire spell at the third mage that was behind her. Freya then felt a burst a heat hit her chest as she turned to face the remaining two, and she fell back, her spear falling out of her hand. Felix and Blank quickly jumped past her and killed the remaining two mages, and then Blank crouched over Freya.

"Are you alright?!" Blank shouted.

"I'm fine," Freya responded as she grabbed her spear and stood up once again. "I was just surprised."

"You fool," Felix said in his usual calm manner, making Blank turned angrily towards him.

"Hey! What the hell?!" Blank called back at him.

"You still had two more enemies," Felix explained, still not changing his tone of voice. "The two jesters." Blank was about to make a come back, but realized that Felix was right, so wasn't able to say anything. "And," Felix continued, "you must care for others, however you must appoint one person to heal the others while the rest of the team, unless desperate, must finish off the rest of the opponents. I'm surprised that Claire was even able to make it to Lindblum if you were twice as good of a leader as you are now."

"Alright," Blank said, trying to restrain from shouting. "I made a mistake! I admit it! But you don't have to call me an idiot or be mean about it!"

However, Felix's face stayed unchanged, as if he hadn't even heard it, however, he responded, "I'll take a note of that. For now, however, we should continue, and we'll talk about this once we're out of here, now we must focus on fighting."

"I know," Blank nodded.

Felix turned, and muttered something that Blank swore that was, "You'll learn, Blank. You may even become as good a fighter as me one day..."

"What was that?" Blank asked.

"Nothing," Felix immediately said. "Now let's go."

They continued through the small walkway and came upon what seemed to be the lobby of the grotto. The floors were blood stained and the scent of blood was even heavier here than it was before, and Blank heard Vivi gag, but he never vomited, however it did make him wonder how the princess would take this.

"Sir Blank," one of the chocobo, now chocoboless, knights inquired. "It seems we need another bell to continue."

"Check the bodies," Blank ordered, and the three knights immediately obeyed, going to the fallen Burmecian soldiers. "And be respectful to their bodies."

"Yes sir!" the chocoboless knights saluted.

As the six knights spread out, Freya walked up to the large door, for there was a smaller one next to it, however Blank suspected they should go into the large one. Freya crouched down and mumbled, "What is beyond their door?"

"What do you mean, Freya?" Blank asked.

"Beyond this door is a very small room, and beyond that is Master Gizamaluke's chamber..." Freya muttered.

"We should try and find two bells," Felix suggested. "So that we may kill all the Alexandrian soldiers."

"They both lead to the same room," Freya responded. "We'll go through the smaller door, so that we'll be able to see all the soldiers, if there are any..."

"What do you mean, 'if there are any'?" Blank asked.

"Master Gizamaluke is a great and legendary warrior. I saw him demonstrate his powers and his powers are far beyond any of ours, perhaps even stronger than all our powers combined, and I don't see why he couldn't defeat the mages."

"Let's hope he did," Blank responded.

"Hey!" one knight called and rose with a bell in his hand. "I found one! I found a bell!"

So, they went to the small door, the door Freya suggested they go through, and Blank rung the bell, and, like the door at the beginning, the bell on the door rung, the bell in Blank's hand shattered, and the door opened. They slowly crept in, and Blank found that they were on a balcony that surrounded a room that had a large bell, now shattered against the ground, and a chocobo crying in front of it. Blank looked around, to see if the moogle was some type of diversion and if mages would leap at them if they went anywhere near the chocobo, but he didn't see any. He did, however, see a couple dead mages, that slightly frightened him, wondering if the legends of Gizamaluke were true.

"Let's go help the moogle," Vivi whispered.

"It may be a trap," Felix told the little mage.

"I don't see any mages, do you?" Blank asked.

"No, but those dead mages may be trying to fool us," Felix responded.

"Then we'll make sure they're dead," Freya said, taking out her spear.

"Alright," Blank nodded. "Let's go."

The team snuck across the balcony in single file, and all with their weapons drawn, in case they were to be spotted by an enemy soldier. They never did see an enemy and they eventually reached the area with the bell and the weeping chocobo. As they reached the bell, Blank noticed a very large door with a bell in the center, which was more than likely the door that they could come in. There were also two other doors, each to one side of the giant fallen bell, one, to the right, seemed a little more... made up, and special, while the one to the left looked like a normal door.

"A-Are you alright?" Vivi asked the little moogle, still with his staff drawn.

"No... my... husband..." the moogle muttered, "k-kupo... is trapped..."

"I don't know if we can lift that bell..." Blank muttered as the chocobo knights searched around the bell for any soldiers, and stabbed the fallen mages, to ensure their death.

The moogle then sniffed the air, and rushed up to Vivi, sniffing his coat. "U-Um... y- yes...?"

"You have kupo nut?!" the little moogle asked.

"Yeah but-" Vivi began.

"Can I have it?!" the moogle asked.

"Um... ok," Vivi answered, taking the kupo nut out of his pocket and putting into the furry paws of the moogle.

The moogle then went up to the bell and said, "I have kupo nut!"

"Kupo nut?!" a muffled voice called from inside the bell. "I'm kupo for kupo nuts!"

The bell began to shake and everyone, except for the moogle wife, took a good step back, and the bell fell back, and a moogle ran from under the bell, grabbing the nut from his wife, and rushing off somewhere.

"Look a chest," Blank said, pointing to the chest that was under the bell. Blank walked up to it and opened it, not surprising him by seeing a bell within the chest. "Good, now let's go to Gizamaluke's Chamber."

"Good," Freya said. "I can not wait until we are out of here and closer to Burmecia."

"Neither can I," Blank responded. "I hope we are able to stop the queen there."

"As do I," Freya agreed. "No one else needs to die at the hand of Alexandrians."

"Then lets hurry," Felix said.

"Gizamaluke's chamber is on the right," Freya responded. The team then walked up to the door on the right, as, according to Freya, was the door to Gizamaluke's chamber. Blank rung the bell, and, as before, the bell on the door rung, the bell in Blank's hand shattered, and the door opened.

"Everyone ready?" Blank asked, they all said yes except for Freya, who seemed frightened. "Are... you alright, Freya?"

"I sense... something terrible in there..." Freya muttered.

"I understand, everyone be at their top guard," Blank commanded. "Now let's go!"

They all went in, and immediately the chocobo knights began inspecting the room. There was a straight path that went to the exit, Blank was only able to conclude this by the light beaming in from the outcrop. There was water on both sides of the fairly thin path, which made Blank think that this would be an easy place to be attacked by surprise, and they would easily be defeated.

There were a few dead black mages, and about twice as many fallen Burmecian soldiers, however there was one that was taking very deep breaths. Freya immediately rushed over to the fallen soldier and crouched next to him, Freya ripped off the soldier's chest armor to try and find a wound that she may be able to heal, however she a gigantic gaping hole in his stomach, and they all thought it was incurable.

"F-Frey...a..." the soldier mumbled. "Y... you... c-came..."

"Yes, of course," Freya said, finding tears beginning to slip down her check. "I had to come back..."

"M-Mast... er.... Giz... ama... luke.... is... p-poss... esed..." the soldier managed to breath, however, his breathing quickly became much heavier. "Two... cl-clow... ns..."

"Two clowns?" Freya asked. "Could it be the two clowns we saw at the entrance?"

Blank shrugged and then noticed that the soldier's breathing stopped, very calmly and not in a horrified manner, as if he had been at peace. And perhaps he had been at peace, passing on the little bit of information he had, maybe then he could rest in peace.

"We should hurry out of here," Freya told the others. "Before Master Gizamaluke finds us."

"What about the others?" Blank asked. "We should fight Gizamaluke now, and finish this, then we'll get the others."

"I... suppose..." Freya muttered.

"Now Blank, this Gizamaluke is supposed to be very powerful," Felix said. "Remember what I said earlier, about assigning a healer?" Blank nodded. "This would be the time to do it."

"Alright..." Blank mumbled thinking, then turned to the chocobo guards, "how about three of the strongest of you help us fight, while the other three heal. If one of the healers one of the fighters take his place, understood?"

"Yes sir!" the soldiers saluted then huddled up, discussing who should heal and who should fight, and, after a moment, they had spread apart, and split into two groups. "We are ready, sir!"

"Good, now, everyone get ready to fight," Blank commanded. "And, Vivi, you begin powering up your strongest spell, and as soon as he comes, hit him with it, that'll be our cue to attack! It'll be so fast that he couldn't possibly see it coming!"

"Let's hope," Freya commented. "This may be our only chance to defeat Master Gizamaluke..."

"Actually, maybe we should get the others first," Vivi struggled to say. It made Blank slightly smile, since that struggling meant he was focusing a lot on his magic. "Then we can be sure we'll defeat him. And we can be certain that we have a healer, Claire."

"Maybe..." Blank muttered, then turned to Freya. "You know the most about Gizamaluke, what do you think?"

"I think Vivi's right," Freya responded. "Unless this spell Gizamaluke is under weakens him, I don't think we'll have the power to defeat him. Even with the chocobo knights."

"What do you think?" Blank asked Felix.

"I don't care," Felix answered. "But I would agree with Freya. She probably knows the best on this."

"Alright, what about you?" Blank asked the knights.

"We agree full heartedly," they all answered.

"Alright then, chocobo knights," Blank ordered. "Two warriors and two healers go to retrieve the others, and bring them here as quickly as you can. Then we may even be able to escape from here without even fighting Gizamaluke!"

"Yes sir!" the knights saluted, and rushed out.

"Alright, now everyone needs to be on their top guard," Blank explained. "If he comes we have to defend, try not to strike until the others arrive and we can hit him at full force, and, Vivi, I'll be sure he doesn't hit you, so you can save your attack until the others come."

Vivi looked like he was about to speak, but instead just nodded, and Blank wondered if he even had the power to speak anymore. The team, with their swords drawn were completely silent, listening for anything that may be in the room, or even in the grotto, if it was loud enough.

Suddenly, they all heard a very frightening screech that seemed to be emanating from a hole in the wall, above the exit. Everyone was on their top guard, and Freya and the two remaining chocobo knights hide behind rocks. Blank would have as well, if Vivi was able too, and Blank thought that Felix wasn't behind a rock for the same reason Blank wasn't. Another screech came to their ears, however this time it wasn't from the hole, it came from behind them, behind the door they recently passed.

"What the?!" Blank heard a chocobo knight scream.

"_NNNNOOOOOOO_!" another screamed.

Then there was utter silence, either two weren't attacked, Blank prayed for this option, or, the more likely option, they were killed before they even knew what was happening. They then, this frightened everyone but Felix, or at least that's what it appeared to be, they heard a gobbling sound.

Gizamaluke was _eating_ the fallen knights.

"We have to strike now, while he's eating," Blank whispered. "We might catch him off guard."

"If that's what you think," Freya told him in the same hushed sound. "However I don't think Vivi will be able to move, and I think he's our best chance."

"What do you think, Felix?" Blank asked.

"..." Felix was silent for a moment. "I think we should lead him here. And then have Vivi strike and we strike. If he stays out there, he might go to the princess."

"Alright," Blank nodded. "But only I'll go out there, I'm the fastest, and has the best chance of getting back out here without him killing me..."

"Are you certain?" Felix asked, still in his fairly calm manner. "I am willing to go in your place."

"No, I'm the fastest, so I would be best to go..." Blank muttered, then turned to Vivi. "When I run back, hit him as soon as you see 'em, but make sure you don't hit me."

Vivi very slightly nodded, actually, had you not expected some sort of response from the mage, you probably wouldn't have noticed it at all. Blank snuck out of the room, trying to keep quiet to be able to try and tell if Gizamaluke had noticed him, fortunately, he had not, for now. Blank slowly went across the room and saw that the large door that the team had never opened, had a very thick hole in it, where the bell would have been.

_He went through the door_, Blank thought, _he was right behind us and we never even noticed..._

Blank slowly went up to the door and saw Master Gizamaluke, he was a humongous snake like creature with blue scales and large blue wings where a human's arms would be. Gizamaluke was gobbling up a chocobo knight, and from Blank view it seemed to be the only on remaining, and was faced, from Blank's point of view, to the left. He glanced around and, to his horror, on the opposite side of the room, he saw Steiner, Randall, and Claire creeping inside. He also noticed Claire had tears streaking down her face, they thought that it was Blank and the team that was being eaten.

_I can't let them try and fight_! Blank thought, then did the only thing he could think of. "Hey! Gizamaluke!" he called. Immediately, everyone in that room turned to Blank, Blank slightly turned to Claire and them, and saw Claire's eyes brighten with hope. Blank slightly grinned at her, but then was interrupted when he heard the screech from Gizamaluke.

Immediately, the reptile was in motion as it leapt from it's spot and begun to flap it's wings. Blank dropped to the floor under the hole as Gizamaluke exploded through the hole like a cannonball from a cannon. Blank looked up and saw a gigantic fireball hit Gizamaluke's head and then saw Felix and Freya leap at him. They both pierced his scales, and then Blank jumped up and joined them.

The beast roared once more, and shook it's body, making the team fly off. Then, a bolt of lightning struck the beast's head, which was now tinted black, and another bolt came from the hole in the door. Screeching again, the beast flew into the air, and broke a hole similar to the one in the door, except in the ceiling.

"Come on, let's go!" Blank shouted, as the place began to rumble.

"What about the others?!" Freya cried.

"I'll help them!" Blank shouted back. "Now go!"

The team rushed out, except for Felix who went over to Blank, who was now at the door helping Randall through the hole. "Go Blank, I'll help them!" Felix shouted over the rumbling.

"No, you go!" Blank told him.

But Felix stayed and instead of shouting back, was silent and merely helped him bring people through. Randall was through and then Steiner helped them get the princess free, who hurt her ankle getting through the hole.

"My ankle!" She cried.

"Blank help her out!" Felix shouted. "I'll get Steiner out!"

Blank merely nodded, and swooped a hand under the princess' feet and her neck, and rushed out of the outcropping. He rushed to the rest of the team who were a ways away from the outcropping, still with the princess in his arms. Blank turned back, expecting to see Felix and Steiner rush out, but instead he saw a large rock fall from on top of the mountain, and cover most of the exit.

"Steiner!" Claire screamed.

"Felix!" Blank shouted to the mostly covered outcropping. Blank didn't really like the guy, but it was... strange. Felix almost felt like a brother to Blank, like the guys at Tantalus except a little stricter. Felix was pointing out Blank's mistake, like the guys at Tantalus, except he was strict about it, while the guys were more jokingly about it. So, in a way, Felix was more like a father to Blank than a brother.

They heard more rumbling from inside the mountain, though saw nothing, except another rock, which finished covering the exit.

"No..." Randall muttered. "They... they're gone..."

Blank, gently and slowly, put Claire on the ground, who then began sobbing even more than before, and Blank wrapped his arms around her, and found that he, too, was crying. In this journey, he had lost _three_ people. Zidane... Steiner... and Felix... All of whom were lost because Blank was too stupid to help them. Had Blank stayed behind Zidane, instead of running in front of him, Zidane may have still been here, standing next to Blank. Had Blank rushed the princess out and then ran back inside, Felix and Steiner may have been here and they may have continued walking, or help set up camp, whatever it was that the people behind him and Claire were doing.

But no, Blank had been too much of a fool to save them. Or even help them.

Claire buried her face into Blank's chest, and wept even more, though now her sobs were muffled by Blank's chest.

That night, the two remaining chocobo knights had made another delicious meal, and again most of it was thrown out. They then set up three small tents, Freya, Vivi, and Randall slept in one, the two knights slept in the other, and Blank and Claire slept in the third.

At first, Blank and Claire were both in their own sleeping bags, however Claire then moved over to Blank's sleeping bag, and they wrapped their arms around each other. Blank felt that he could have had sex with the princess at that time, but chose not to for one big reason. He wouldn't want to use the princess in any way. Over the course of their journey, he had grown to love her, and he realized at this moment, as they both slept in the same sleeping bag. There were other reasons, but did it matter? They never had sex that night, though they did sleep together and eventually fell asleep in each other's arms, but they were now something more than friends. Were they in love with each other? Blank felt so, but he wasn't sure if the princess did. But, they did _trust_ each other at the very least.

There's chapter 7!

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	8. Burmecia

Hey! Thanks for coming back!

I bet you all thought I wouldn't continue this story, even I had my doubts, but I'm gonna try and continue.

please enjoy the story and once you're finished, PLEASE REVIEW!

Chapter 8: Burmecia

* * *

When Blank woke up, he wasn't surprised that Claire was still sleeping next to him, as he usually did wake up before her. She had been crying all night, he knew that because the pillow under her head was still damp, and her eyes were puffy. He was actually surprised that she went into his sleeping bag at all, but at the same time he wasn't too surprised. 

She probably felt defenseless. After all, throughout the entire journey she had the defense of Steiner on her side, and always thought of it as useless. You never truly know what you had before you lose it, and she realized that, and wanted to feel like she had some defense, and that was probably why she slept with him. That, and the fact that she was probably depressed by the fact that she had lost two friends that night. But, Blank didn't understand why she wanted to be with him. After all, he was the reason of their deaths.

At that thought, Blank sighed and slowly got out of his sleeping bag, careful not to wake the princess. He then crawled out of the tent and saw that there was all ready a fire blazing and cooking breakfast, with Freya and the two remaining chocobo knights cooking.

"Morning," Blank nodded to the dragon knight.

Freya simply nodded, as if barely recognizing his presence. Blank wasn't too surprised; he imagined that all the people hated him now. He failed his task, his _one_ task, to protect the people who followed him. As a result he lost _six_ people. Two of whom were his comrades, and despite the fact he may not have liked them as well as others, they trusted him to protect them.

He failed them. He didn't deserve to travel with the group, he didn't deserve to help them liberate Burmecia. He didn't deserve to be anywhere near the princess, definitely didn't deserve her embrace the previous night, and he certainly he didn't deserve to be able to return to Tantalus once he helped them, something he probably didn't deserve to do either.

He sighed and sat down on a log that was set up around campfire. "Vivi and Randall not up yet?" Blank asked.

"No," Freya replied. "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes. We'll wake them then."

"No need to wake me," a voice said from behind them, and neither of them had to look to see that it was Randall. Randall walked up and sat next to Blank. Blank wanted to look at him and apologize for his failure the previous day, but he found that he couldn't even look into the man's face.

"I'm… sorry…" Blank mumbled.

"Sorry?" Randall asked. "Why? You did nothing wrong."

"Don't joke, Randall," Blank spoke in a surprisingly serious tone. "Six people died yesterday because of me. _Six_ people."

"Don't blame that on yourself," Randall replied. "You merely did what you, as well as everyone else, thought was right. The chocobo knights died doing something that was correct, and Felix stayed back because he was trying to save a comrade on his own choice. He _wanted_ to stay back, and he died trying to save another. There is no higher honor in Lindblum than dying to save another."

"I suppose you're right," Blank lied. He still felt that he was responsible, he felt like it was his fault that those people had died, there nothing Randall, or anyone, could say to change that.

"So are you going to lead the next battle?" Randall asked.

"No," Blank immediately replied. "I can't… especially after what just happened."

"I suppose," Randall replied, then turned to Freya. "How about you, Freya. Would you like to lead the battle?"

"Yes," Freya answered. "I couldn't in the grotto, but I must here. I have to redeem myself for my unfaithfulness to Burmecia in the past. I will lead the attack on Burmecia, and I will succeed."

"Very well."

"Breakfast is ready," a chocobo knight announced.

"I'll wake Claire and Vivi up," Blank said as he stood and first walked to Vivi's tent.

Inside, the young mage was sleeping and silently snoring. Instantly he felt failure drain into his thoughts again. Why did he let Vivi, a young innocent child, come on such a dangerous journey? If he were smart, he would have let Vivi stay back at Lindblum and live out his life in peace?

In his anger with himself, Blank didn't remember that Vivi wanted to come with them.

Blank called, "Vivi, breakfast is ready."

Vivi sat up and rubbed his eyes, then slowly stood and nodded. He seemed a little frightened, probably from the event yesterday, and once he glanced at the wetness on his pillow, Blank assumed he was right. Vivi walked past Blank, and then Blank went to his and Claire's tent.

When he looked in, again his thoughts were of his own failures. Claire was a princess, and no princess should have to go on a life threatening adventure. No matter what the reason, she was royalty, and if she were to get killed while in his hands, that would probably be a brand new spark for the war.

Blank sighed and stepped inside, then crouched down in front of her. She was beautiful, but Blank found that he couldn't stand looking at her. He felt guilty, he felt that he couldn't stand looking at the sadness on her face which were caused by his miserable failures.

So instead, he stood and walked to the tent flap, looking out at the fire, and said, "Claire, wake up," and once he heard her rustling, he continued, "Breakfast is ready. Come on out."

He then walked over back to his spot on the log, and shortly following him was Claire, who sat on the log across from him. They were all given their breakfasts and Blank, Claire, and Vivi, along with the two chocobo knights, couldn't eat much. They were all thinking about their fallen comrades, which added another failure to Blank's mind.

Seeing this, Blank stood and announced, "I'm sorry… but I can't continue with you…"

Claire looked up worriedly at him, but said nothing. Instead, it was Randall who said, "But why, Blank? We need all the strength we can get."

"I know, and I'm sorry," Blank shook his head. "But… I just can't… what if I fail again…?"

"You never failed, Blank!" Randall exclaimed. "You've done an excellent job! You've done as good as anyone could have in the given situation!"

"Don't lie, Randall," Blank told him. "I failed. I failed my friends. I failed you all. I can't continue, I'm sorry."

"But Blank!" Randall exclaimed, but Blank was all ready leaving the campsite, silently saying his apologies.

Claire stood up and followed him, and once Blank noticed this, when they were just out of hearing distance from the camp, he stopped, though didn't face her. "What are you doing, Claire?" Blank asked.

"Don't leave…" Claire murmured. "Please don't… I don't want you to…"

"I failed you," Blank told her, still not facing her. "I failed everyone. I… can't handle that…"

"But Blank…" she softly said.

"I'm sorry, Claire," Blank silently whispered, then continued walking. This time, Claire didn't follow him.

Instead Claire went back to the campsite and sat down. No one asked her what they spoke about, not only since it didn't matter because he still didn't come back, but also because they all new they were more than friends. Not necessarily lovers, but more than friends, and Randall and Freya knew that they trusted each other deeply, as those two saw what position they were in when they were going to wake them up for their shift.

Instead they finished their breakfast in silence, and then began heading to Burmecia in silence. Claire was looking at her feet the whole time, feeling like a complete failure. Everyone around here was leaving, either by death or worse. Steiner, who wanted nothing more than to protect her, died, along with Felix. And Blank, dear, dear Blank, left her because he thought he was a failure. He felt he was useless and unworthy. If he only knew how much Claire needed him, especially now when she was about to confront her mother, he would have stayed.

Blank taught her almost everything she knew about fighting. Over their journey together, though very short, she began to think of him as something more than a friend. She even began to idolize him in a way. His carefree way, how he was able to simply take the airship from Dali and drive it to Lindblum, how he was able to easily, and cockily, get past security at Lindblum and find her, and how he had lead them through their adventure, and doing so very well. The deaths at the grotto weren't his fault, but he was blaming himself, which made her feeling ever worse than not having him to protect her. Not only was he hurting from the loss of his friends, but he was blaming himself for their loss.

Then she felt a strong hand on her shoulder and for a moment she hoped that it was Blank, but when she turned and saw Randall, she couldn't hide the disappointment of it not being Blank, but she did flash a fake smile. "Don't worry," Randall whispered to her. "He'll be back. I promise."

She nodded, but in her heart, though it wished for his words to be true, she knew it was false. He probably would probably never meet with her again, and if he did, he probably wouldn't be able to face her because of 'his' failures.

* * *

Blank was walking back to the North Gate, for supplies. Then, who knows where he would go. He might become a drifter, or he might search for Tantalus. No matter what he would become, though, he was always stay a failure. He failed three of his friends, Zidane, Felix, and Steiner. He was a failure, nothing more than that. 

In his thoughts, he realized that he had past the North Gate, and reached the place that reawakened all his failures. The crumbled grotto. He walked up to it and pressed his hand against the fallen stones.

"God, why did you damn me?" Blank asked. "My body… not even my skin anymore… my eyes, my worthless eyes… my failures… Claire, who had high hopes for me… I'm a failure… why did you create a failure…?"

"Blank!" someone called from above him.

Blank thought this was his own imagination or someone he didn't deserve to see, and almost considered not looking up until they called his name again. Who he saw were Felix and Steiner, their clothes dirty but they didn't look hurt at all.

"Geez… now I'm seeing ghosts…" Blank mumbled, and was about to walk away, when they jumped down next to him.

"Blank, what are you doing here?" Felix asked.

"What are you doing here?" Blank asked. "You're dead."

"No, Steiner and I made it out alive," Felix replied. "We managed to crawl through one of the tunnels Gizamaluke had made."

Blank blinked in disbelief.

"Where is the princess!" Steiner exclaimed. "Where are the others?"

"You're… alive?" Blank asked.

"We _are_ standing right next to you," Felix told him.

"_Where is the princess_!" Steiner shouted.

"No…" Blank shook his head. "I failed them…"

"What do you mean?" Felix asked.

"I thought… you were dead…" Blank told him. "I… I took the failures on myself… I left the group… I didn't want to fail them anymore."

"Our near deaths were no faults but our own," Felix told them. "It was our option to be the last to escape, not yours."

"That's what they tried to tell me…" Blank muttered. "But I didn't listen to them…"

"Well, we have to go find and help them," Felix told him.

"I can't face them… not now… not after abandoning them…"

"If it's truly what you want then you can leave and abandon them," Felix said in his usual tone. "Them and Claire. However, it is not too late to redeem yourself, Blank. Come with us and help them, you failures as you call them will be forgotten. Or you can leave now and forever be thought of as a failure in their terms. It's your choice, and I suggest you choose wisely."

"I'll… go with you…" Blank muttered.

"Good," Felix slightly smiled. "Now we have to hurry if we plan on catching up with them."

"Right," Blank nodded, his confidence restored.

The three then ran as quickly as they could to catch up with the rest of their teammates.

* * *

After two long hours of walking, they finally reached Burmecia. It was raining, which isn't a surprise as it is known by it's eternal rain. The buildings were in ruin and they were clearly too late to prevent any attacks, but they could still clear the city of the Alexandrians.

"We're… too late…" Vivi muttered. He didn't like the looks of the place, the destruction and rain, and the very faint screams that could still be heard. He was certain that the only reason they didn't smell blood here was because of the rain, but had the rain not been there, the smell probably would have been worse than at the grotto.

Freya dropped to her knees and uttered a short prayer in silence. "Freya, you wish to lead the attack, correct?" Randall asked once Freya stood once again.

"That's right," Freya replied. "You will be waiting out here, correct?"

"That depends," Randall answered, then turned to Claire. "Do you wish to battle, Miss. I'm certain that you mother will be inside these walls."

"No…" Claire silently replied. "I… don't feel much like fighting…"

"I understand," Randall nodded, turning back to Freya. "Then I will stay out here, and protect Claire."

"All right," Freya nodded. "Vivi, chocobo knights, be on you're top guard. We can't afford to lose more people."

"Yes, Miss Freya!" the chocobo knights saluted.

"All right," Vivi nervously nodded.

_Can I really do this_? Freya thought. _Can I really lead an attack, specifically on one to protect my hometown? Lord Fratley, I beg of you to please protect me…_

"Let's go," Freya told her four teammates.

They then marched in, and almost instantly a group of four soldiers confronted them. "Go away," the soldier commanded. "This area is now under Alexandrian territory!"

"Not for long!" Freya exclaimed as she pulled out her spear and impaled the soldier. The chocobo knights quickly took two others out, but the fourth Freya was about to fight, until a large fireball hit him right in the face. "Good!" Freya exclaimed, running into the town. "We have to taken them all out!"

As they ran, soldiers rushed up to them, some of these soldiers were mages and others were beasts, but Freya and their team took care of all of them nonetheless. They continued charging until they reached a large mansion that was once owned by a great duke, but now it was crumbled, and on the two balconies, they saw those annoying clowns.

"You!" Freya cried, pointing her spear at them. "You did this! You turned Master Gizamaluke against us! You caused all this to happen!"

"Who is she?" one clown asked.

"Burmecian rat, she be," the second answered.

"All Burmecian rats must be eliminated!" the first shouted. "Black mages destroy her!"

They then quickly ran off the balcony and into the building, and in their place two black mages arrived, both who jumped down and attacked the group. The first quickly used a fireball attack on one of the chocobo knight, and the other chocobo knight quickly eliminated it. The second mage didn't have a chance to strike before Freya was able to jab her spear through it's stomach.

"Kain!" the chocobo knight said, looking over his comrade.

"Is he all right?" Freya asked.

"No…" the knight replied. "He's… dead…"

"I'm sorry," Freya told him. "What is your name, sir?"

"My name is Cecil," the knight replied.

Freya then placed her hand on the knights shoulder and looked directly into his eyes. "Cecil, you will fight for all your fallen comrades. You will show these Alexandrians the _true_ power of the chocobo knights!"

"Yes, Miss Freya!" the knight exclaimed.

"Good, now let us continue," Freya told them.

"Yes, Miss Freya!" the knight exclaimed once more.

They quickly rushed up the stairs with Freya in the lead, Cecil behind her, and Vivi behind him. They burst into the room at the top of the stairs, and saw a bed there, and in the bed were two dead Burmecians, both with a look of utter horror on their faces. Freya walked over and dropped to her knees, "Duke Locke and his mistress Celes…"

"Freya?" Vivi asked. "Are you all right?"

"I must continue," Freya announced. "These two… were Lord Fratley's parents… I must avenge them."

Freya then stood and closed their eyes, and then continued through the mansion, heading to the king's palace.

* * *

Claire was depressed, and thought of how stupid she had been. _I've been such a fool…_ she thought. _I've been training for so long, and for what? To battle Alexandrian soldiers? To battle my own soldiers? Blank… Steiner… Felix… They all fought to protect me, and all gave up. I'm not worth the effort…_

"Someone's coming," Randall announced glaring ahead.

Claire slightly lifted her head, and did see that someone was running to them. But there wasn't one, but three. Probably Alexandrian soldiers who were ordered to capture her and probably will arrest Randall.

"Take out your staff," Randall said as he took out his short sword. "I can't take care of all of them by myself."

She slowly took out her staff, but could barely stand holding it, it reminded her of how foolish she had been. "I can't fight…" she sighed.

Randall looked at her with concern, but then nodded, "I understand, but I do intend on fighting them, if it comes to that."

"Ok…" Claire softly replied, looking back down at her feet.

As the three came closer, Claire saw that Randall had dropped his weapon. "By the gods…" Randall muttered. "It's Blank!"

Claire instantly looked up and saw Blank. She began running to him, she was curious why he was coming back, but what she did know was that she needed him, and needed him now more than ever. Inside she was alone, and before he left, she at least had him and Vivi, but now Vivi went inside. Sure Randall was here, but she didn't really know him all that well, and after what had happened, she wasn't too sure that she wanted to know him much better, because once he was gone, she would feel the same thing all over again.

But now Blank was here, and he could solve everything. He could take care of everything, and her face lit up with hope. Once he came close enough, they both fell into each other's arms, and Blank noticed that Claire was actually crying.

"You're back…" she wept.

Blank began rubbing his hand against the back of her head and looked towards Burmecia, noticing that Randall was also running up to them. "I'm sorry, Claire. I never should have left," Blank said. "I was a fool, but I have to help you, especially now."

"Right…" Claire nodded and sobbed, and then separated from him, still smiling up at him.

"Princess!" Steiner exclaimed next to Blank.

Claire turned and her eyes widened, and then she tackled Steiner with a hug. "You're back! You're back, Steiner!"

"Such embrace," Steiner said. "I am not worthy!"

She then separated from him and saw Blank's other traveler, and saw that it was Felix. "Felix!" she exclaimed and surprised everyone by quickly hugging him as well. She was so happy that they were all back, how they were back she didn't know, but they were back nonetheless.

"Where are the others?" Felix instantly asked Randall.

"They went inside," Randall answered.

"I'm going, anyone who wants to go can come with me if they're ready for a run and a fight," Felix told them. "I have a bad feeling that we won't be able to liberate Burmecia today, but we can try."

"I'm going," Blank announced.

"No!" Claire exclaimed. "Please… no…"

"I'm sorry," Blank told her. "But I have to. I can't abandon Vivi and Freya. Not again."

"Right," she solemnly nodded.

"I shall stay here and protect the princess," Steiner announced.

"I'll stay here too," Randall told them. "I have a feeling you're right, Felix, and that's precisely why I must stay out here, so that I may try and find the queen and help Claire convince her not to fight anyone anymore."

"Very well," Felix nodded, then turned to Blank. "Come, Blank. We must hurry!"

"Right," Blank nodded, looking at Claire one last time, then followed Felix into Burmecia.

* * *

"A black mage!" a Burmecian soldier who was running away from the palace cried. 

"He's not one of them!" Freya announced.

"Freya!" the soldier exclaimed. "You came back!"

"I couldn't abandon Burmecia in a time of need," Freya told him. "Any sign of… Fratley?"

"No, I'm sorry, Freya," the soldier shook his head. "But we have to leave! We lost Burmecia, Freya!"

"I can't leave yet," Freya shook her head. "Have they taken the palace yet?"

"Yeah, but the king all ready escaped to Cleyra. That's where we're headin' too. You should come with us!"

"No," Freya confidently replied. "I have to do all I can here, even if it ends in my death."

"All right, Freya," the soldier replied. "I gotta go! See ya!"

"Good bye," Freya replied. "We have to hurry. I have a feeling the queen is in the palace."

"All right, Miss Freya," Cecil replied, but Vivi nervously stood there.

Freya noticed the little mage and so she kneeled down next to him, and said, "Vivi, if you want to go back, I understand."

"No," Vivi shook his head. "I have to find out why these black mages are being used by the queen."

Freya slightly smiled and nodded, "Very well, Vivi, and I'm glad that you are staying with us."

Vivi nodded.

"We should hurry, Miss Freya," Cecil replied.

"I know," Freya nodded. "Let us go!"

They then marched up the stairs, and reached the palace. Instantly a group of four Alexandrian soldiers attacked them, but they were prepared for the attack. The first charged at Cecil, but he easily slashed the soldier's face in half, causing the body to stumble to the ground. The second had a spear through his face before he even saw the enemies, and the third was blasted with a fireball just before he had the ability. And the fourth actually did manage to slash Cecil across the chest, but Cecil was able to retaliate with a slash of his own.

"Cecil!" Freya exclaimed, crouching next to the soldier. "Are you all right?"

"I'm all right," he said as he lifted up his shirt, revealing chest armor. "You don't have to worry about me."

"Good," Freya said as she stood up.

The place was gigantic, with two large doors on each side of a very large statue of a Burmecian dragon knight. The statue was missing a hand, which could be seen covering the door to the right of it. The statue reached all the way to the top of the palace, where the palace courtyard was.

"Shall we go in, Freya?" Cecil asked.

"Shh…" Freya mumbled.

Cecil and Vivi were quiet, but didn't understand why, they couldn't hear anyone or anything. Freya, however, instantly jumped high up on the statue, and called down, "Someone's inside the palace!" and then jumped up again to reach the courtyard.

"You think you can climb that, Vivi?" Cecil asked.

"N-No…" Vivi replied.

"Me neither," the knight replied. "We can get up there through the door, though."

* * *

Felix and Blank were rushing through Burmecia and had just passed a Burmecian knight. They were running to the palace, Blank knew, and he had a feeling he knew why. Not only would Vivi and Freya probably be there, but the queen, if she is here at all, would be there. 

As they ran, Felix suddenly stopped, and moved a hand in front of Blank's chest to stop him as well. "What is it?" Blank asked Felix, who was looking worriedly up at the palace.

"Do you sense that?" Felix asked.

"Sense what?" Blank replied.

"That power…" Felix muttered. His eyes then widened, as though he suddenly realized something, or remembered that power from somewhere. "We must hurry!"

"Right," Blank replied, confused how Felix knew of that power, like Blank thought he did, but knowing that he has to help his friends.

They eventually reached the palace, but were dismayed to discover that there was no one standing outside. "We should wait for them here," Blank told Felix.

"They've all ready went inside," Felix replied. "If we don't hurry, we might be too late."

Blank nodded, and then hurried inside the palace.

* * *

Freya, Vivi, and Cecil were hiding behind a statue of a Burmecian knight that surrounded the courtyard. They were looking over the queen, who was sitting on a throne, the throne that was once used by the Burmecian king, her loyal general Beatrix, a fearful woman Freya had once heard of, and a mysterious silver haired man. 

The queen was a very portly woman, she barely was able to squeeze into the king's chair, and was wearing far too much makeup on her face and wearing her queen clothing. The general was wearing a silver overcoat, silver chest armor, and orange pants, and attached to the belt on those pants was her sheath. The sheath held her weapon that, legend says, she once used to defeat a hundred knight single-handedly. The silver haired man had long, feather like hair, and wore blue chest armor with silver sleeves covering his hands, and wore black pants with a silver cloth going down his back.

"Who are they?" Vivi asked.

"That's the queen," Freya pointed. "That's General Beatrix, and I don't know who that other man is…"

"General Beatrix?" Vivi asked. "We're going to have to fight them?"

"Let's hope not," Freya replied.

Just then, a Burmecian soldier rushed into the room, shouting, "Burmecia will never fall to you Alexandrian devils!"

"Beatrix," the queen said. "Destroy that rat."

"Yes, my queen," Beatrix pulled out her sword and faced the soldier. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into. I'm General Beatrix."

"G-General B-Beatrix?" the soldier stammered.

"We have to help him!" Freya exclaimed, jumping out of her hiding spot and in front of the knight, being followed by Vivi and Cecil. "Go!" Freya shouted to the soldier.

"Freya!" the soldier exclaimed as he ran away. "I owe you one!"

"Ugh, more disgusting rats!" the queen said.

"A black mage…" the silver haired man mumbled.

"Destroy them, Beatrix!" the queen exclaimed.

"Yes, your majesty!" Beatrix exclaimed, charging at Freya. The general's speed was so fast that Freya didn't stand a chance to protect from it, but fortunately the attack was stopped. Unfortunately, Cecil's body stopped it.

"Cecil!" Freya exclaimed. The sword and gone right through his chest, penetrating his armor.

"Freya…" Cecil mumbled as his body dropped to the ground once Beatrix tore her sword out of his body. "Vivi… destroy them…"

"Prepare to die," Freya exclaimed.

"No!" someone behind them shouted. "Stop!"

They all looked and saw Blank and Felix marching into the room. Blank looked shocked at Beatrix, but Felix's eyes were glaring at the silver haired man. "_YOU_!" Felix bellowed at the man, marching towards him.

"If you want to get to him, you'll have to get through me," Beatrix said, stepping in front of Felix.

"Fine," Felix shouted, tearing his katana out of it's sheath.

"No, Felix!" Blank exclaimed. "She's General Beatrix! She'll destroy you!"

"We'll see," Felix replied.

"Well then I'm fighting with you!" Blank exclaimed.

"No, stay out of this, Blank!" Felix shouted.

"You should take his help, you'll need it," Beatrix told him.

"We shall see who needs the help," Felix growled.

They stood across from each other, and then Beatrix charged at Felix faster than she had charged at Freya earlier. Felix, however, easily dodged, and then faced her back, and jammed his katana through the general's stomach.

"By the gods!" Freya exclaimed.

"He was never so powerful…" Blank murmured.

"General Beatrix!" the queen shouted. "How did you defeat her!"

Felix, however, was concentrating on the silver haired man. "_YOU_!" Felix shouted. "You killed them all! Jenna… Sheba… Isaac… _ALL OF THEM_!"

"hmm?" the silver haired man asked. "Ah, yes, those fools. I recall them now. How did you get here, I wonder?"

"It doesn't matter!" Felix bellowed. "I will destroy you! I have to avenge them!"

"You're welcomed to try," the silver haired man mused.

"Damn right I will!" Felix shouted. "Spire!"

Just then, a sharp rock exploded through the floor right where the man was standing, however, he had vanished. "He can use magic!" Blank exclaimed. "Why didn't you do this before!"

"I won't be taken down by such simple attacks," the man replied, standing closer to Felix now.

"Fine!" Felix exclaimed, charging at the silver haired man. He, however, easily vanished once again, and reappeared behind Felix.

"Fool!" the silver haired man tittered. "You don't stand a chance!"

He then faced his hand, open palmed, at Felix, and a large bolt of lightening formed from it, and struck Felix dead on.

Felix stumbled back, but then shook it off, "I have to avenge them!" Felix cried. "I can't let you do this again!"

Felix charged again, but the silver haired man merely stood there. "Hmm… no one, not even your friends, have ever survived an attack that powerful," he said, he didn't sound worried, but it seemed like he was taking it into memory, as if it was something he would try to take care of later.

Once Felix got close enough, the man disappeared again, and this time appeared in the sky, above the queen. "For your foolish mistakes, all will suffer!" he cried, but then seemed to realize that the queen was looking up confused at him. He then landed and cried, "Life 2!"

Beatrix then stood once again, confused of what is going on. "I don't understand… where am I?" she asked, then felt her stomach. "I thought I…"

"Beatrix!" the queen cried. "Destroy them!"

"Right!" Beatrix exclaimed. "Climhazzard!"

Just then, bolts of lightning struck everyone, including Felix, which made them all drop to the ground. The attack was far too possible for any of them to handle, and they all fainted, and nearly died.

* * *

"I hope they're all right…" Claire muttered. 

"I'm sure they will be," Randall replied, and just then, the two clowns, Zorn and Thorn, walked up next to them with a large group of black mages.

"Zorn! Thorn!" Claire exclaimed. "I demand to see my mother!"

"You will see her, all right," Zorn replied.

"Like it or not, you will see her," Thorn finished.

"What do you mean?" Randall asked.

"Black mages! Arrest them!" the two exclaimed.

"What is the meaning of this!" Steiner exclaimed.

"To the airship take them!" Thorn commanded.

* * *

"Hmm," the silver haired man mumbled as he inspected the people that had attempted to attack them. The queen and the general had retreated to their airship, but he was here, he, unlike the queen and general, knew they were still alive. "Another rat," he inspected. "A defect… and… hmm, interesting," he said, looking over Blank. 

He then walked over to Felix who, and this didn't seem to surprise the silver haired man, was still glaring at him struggling to stand. "You… bastard…" Felix managed to mutter.

"I'm curious how you made it here," the man told Felix.

"I will never tell you," Felix told him.

"Probably because you don't know, correct?" the man tittered, making Felix slightly growl. "As I thought. Well, until we meet again," he then jumped up on his silver dragon. The dragon was huge and slightly frightening, just as Felix remembers it being. "And next time," the man finished. "I won't hesitate to kill you."

His dragon took off to the skies, and Felix, though slightly frightened, knew he would find some way to avenge his fallen friends.

"I will destroy him…" Felix muttered. "I have to…"

* * *

Well, what do you think! 

I know it was pretty long, but did you like it?

PLEASE REVIEW!

Also, Felix is from Golden Sun, which I don't and never did own.


	9. Cleyra

Hey! Thanks for coming back!

I hope you enjoy the story and once you're done, PLEASE REVIEW!

Chapter Nine: Cleyra

* * *

Blank blinked awake. His muscles were sore and ached, as if he had just run ten miles, and he could feel new wounds all over his body. He struggled to get up, and the first time he fell to the ground. The second time he managed to stand up, and walked as if drunk towards his comrades, but then he fell to the ground. 

"Damn…" Blank muttered. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a potion, which he then drank. It tasted bitter, but he could instantly feel results.

This time he managed to stand and stay up, so he walked over to Vivi, dropped to his knees and shook the young mage, "Vivi… you all right?"

Blank continued this for a little bit, and became very worried that Vivi might have died. And if Vivi died, Freya might have died, and Felix too. But then the boy uttered a small moan, and slowly opened his eyes. Blank took out another potion and handed it to Vivi, "Here, drink this. Hopefully it'll help you feel better."

Vivi nodded and then drank it, and said, "Thanks Blank…"

"Feeling better?" Blank asked.

"A lot… though I think we should rest here for a while longer…"

"I know what you mean," Blank nodded, and then turned to Freya.

He shook Freya awake, and once he saw movement, and then she took a potion out of her pocket and drank it. "You all right, Freya?" Blank asked.

"Damn!" Freya exclaimed. "We lost…"

"Yeah," Blank nodded and looked around for Felix, the next person he would help. "Hey! Where's Felix!"

Freya instantly jumped up and looked around, while Vivi stayed sitting down and looked around. "Do you think he's ok?" Freya asked.

"… I don't know…" Blank muttered. "He's so strong I wouldn't be surprised, but at the same time, I think, since he's so strong, that man might have killed him."

"He was awfully powerful," Freya muttered. "Did he ever show power anywhere near that before?"

"No," Blank shook his head. "He was never so powerful… why didn't he tell us he was that strong? Why didn't he use that strength earlier, like at Gizamaluke's Grotto?"

"I wish he had," Freya replied.

"Shit! We have to leave now," Blank suddenly exclaimed. "Claire, Randall, and Steiner are at the entrance of Burmecia! We have to go and help them!"

"Right!" Freya exclaimed and they rushed out of the palace, barely noticing that Vivi was following them very slowly.

Blank ran through the entire town, despite the painful protests from his legs. About halfway through the town he noticed that Freya was no longer behind him, probably got worn out. But he was far too concerned about Claire, he told her that he wouldn't leave her anymore, and if she was gone… well, he wouldn't go through that failure phase again, but he would definitely regret not staying back with her.

Once he reached the entrance of the town, he dropped to his knees, in pain and in dismay. His legs trembled and the muscles seemed to wiggle in pain underneath his skin. His dismay, of course, was that no one was here, Randall wasn't here, Steiner wasn't here… and Claire wasn't here.

"Damn it…" Blank muttered. "Claire… I pray that you're safe…"

"Is she here?" Freya asked once she arrived, being followed by Vivi.

"No…" Blank muttered. "Claire… nobody's here…"

"It's not you're fault, Blank," Freya told him.

"I know," Blank said as he struggled to stand. "It was their choice, and a wise one at that, to stay out here. But I have to save them, I can't abandon them."

"We will not abandon them," Freya told him. "But first we have to go to Cleyra. I'm certain that the queen's forces have probably all ready planned for an attack, if not are all ready attacking."

"…" Blank nodded. "All right, but we should rest first. At this rate, by the time we reach Cleyra, we won't have any energy to climb it. And then we have to wait outside it, in that sand storm."

"Right," Freya nodded. "… Actually… I believe we left our sleeping materials with Randall and Claire…"

"…" Blank thought for a minute. "We could always sleep in Burmecia…"

"N-No way…" Vivi muttered. "It's creepy in there…"

"Indeed," Freya replied. "All those bodies… I don't believe I can handle sleeping in that place…"

"It's that or we sleep outside, make your choice," Blank told them.

"I say we sleep outside…" Vivi muttered.

"Likewise," Freya replied.

"All right," Blank nodded. "There will be a total of nine hours rest. We each sleep six hours and stand guard three."

"Agreed," Freya nodded.

"I'll take the first shift," Blank told them. "Then Freya, and then you, Vivi, all right?"

"That's good…" Vivi mumbled.

"All right," Blank told them. "Get some rest, I'll wake Freya up in about three hours."

"Ok, Blank," Freya and Vivi replied, and then they lied down. They were on the ground with nothing for comfort except their hands for pillows, their muscles ached especially from the run down to the entrance, but they fell asleep quickly enough.

* * *

After nine hours, they all felt rejuvenated, and so they headed to Cleyra. They battled few monsters, which wasn't too surprising since Cleyra was only about an hour's walk from Burmecia. Once they reached Cleyra, they were amazed to see the humongous sand storm covering the majestic tree. 

"I've heard of the sand storm… but I guess I never really… believed it…" Blank muttered.

"It's amazing…" Vivi added.

"Indeed it is," Freya replied. "It's stood here for so long, because of a spell held at the sanctum of the town."

"Have you ever been here, Freya?" Blank asked.

"No," Freya replied. "A lot of the people of Burmecians don't appreciate the Cleyrans… The Cleyrans separated from Burmecia because they wanted to live more peacefully. There's nothing wrong with that, but a lot of the Burmecians thought the Cleyrans were weak. I'm not surprised if the tension between the Burmecians and the Cleyrans is gone now."

"Yeah…" Blank nodded. "I imagine a lot of the Burmecians escaped to here."

"I hope they have…" Freya murmured. "I want to protect them… I won't let Cleyra fall like I did Burmecia…"

"It wasn't your fault, Freya," Vivi muttered.

"…" Freya was silent, but then nodded. "Let's go…"

"All right," Blank nodded.

The way to the tree was rather odd, but made Blank believe that an attack here would be easily noticeable. There was just a thin rickety bridge that lead to the tree which seemed like it barely held the three's weight. So if the Alexandrians had been able to cross this, it would take hours, if not days, to get all their soldiers across.

Then climbing the tree was even more awkward. The paths were covered with sand, probably coming from the sand storm outside, and then there was a very small path where you had to pull a device to get the sand to flow down below, so they could cross. There was no way the Alexandrians would be able to fit all their soldiers in the small path and not in the room where the sand came down.

* * *

"Damn…" Steiner mumbled. He shook the bars of his prison. "Let me out! I'm the captain of the Knights of Pluto!" 

After being arrested, they were brought aboard the queen's Red Rose, which was hidden behind Burmecia. Steiner and Randall were thrown into prison, but they hadn't seen Claire since boarding the aircraft.

"We know who you are," the prison guard told him. "And we don't care."

"I'm an official from Lindblum," Randall told them. "Arresting me could be considered an act of war!"

"Do you think we care?" the guard chuckled. "Do you think Lindblum stands a chance against Alexandria's military?"

"…" Randall was silent. The guard was probably right. Burmecia is supposed to have some of the best warriors in the world, and Alexandria was able to conquer it so quickly. Especially with the king being a frog, they don't have their air force. If Alexandria were to attack them, Lindblum wouldn't stand a chance.

"Where is the princess!" Steiner demanded. "I protected her for so long! I deserve some sort of explanation!"

"I don't even know that," the guard told Steiner. "So just shut up and sit tight in your cell. I'm sure the queen will do what's right."

Randall slightly chuckled at that comment.

* * *

"Finally!" Blank announced once they reached the town. From what they could see now, the town was gorgeous, it was built on a gigantic tree, and the tree had brilliantly green leaves and magnificently beautiful branches. There were small fountains across the town that allowed the tree to keep it's beautiful colors. 

There were two people at the entrance of the town garbed in a white robe, both of whom smiled at the three. "Welcome to Cleyra," the first said.

The second then smiled at Freya, "You must be Lady Freya, correct?"

"That's right," Freya nodded.

"The King of Burmecia wishes to speak to you," she smiled. "He is at the sanctum at the top of the tree. Would you like me to go with you?"

"Please," Freya replied, then turned to Blank. "Stay in Cleyra, I will meet up with you later."

"I plan to," Blank nodded.

Freya smiled at him, and then followed the white-garbed woman through the village. The remaining woman then walked up to Blank and Vivi and said, "Would you like a tour of the town?"

"No thanks," Blank replied. "I'll find my own way around."

"I-I would like a tour…" Vivi told the Cleyran.

"All right, then," the woman smiled and led Vivi up through the town.

Blank sighed as he looked over the beauty of the town. _Claire would love this place… _Blank thought. She truly would, it was so beautiful, almost as beautiful as she is.

Blank sighed again and walked through the town, and ran into some Burmecians how were arguing about something. Blank noticed the man had a large carriage with several weapons, and so he asked, "Do you sell weapons?"

"Yeah," the Burmecian said. "Trying to get some cash so that my family and I can go buy a new home somewhere."

Blank smiled and nodded, then asked, "What swords do you have?"

"Well, I got this one here," the Burmecian said, showing Blank a sword that was clearly sharper than his own. "It goes for 1600 gil."

"All right," Blank responded and handed him 2000 gil then took the sword. "You can keep the change."

"Th-thank you!" the man exclaimed.

Blank nodded then headed further up the town, basically randomly walking around as he didn't know where to go. However, through most of his travel around the village, his mind was filled of thoughts of the princess. He hoped she was all right, hoped that she was still alive. He assumed, if the Alexandrian soldiers captured her, she would be safe, at least for now. He still felt like he needed to do something, he still felt like it was somewhat his fault.

But that feeling wouldn't stop him from doing what he needed to do, not anymore. He would protect Cleyra, and then he would find Claire.

* * *

Steiner and Randall waited impatiently in their cells, until Zorn and Thorn entered the prison room of the ship. The guard instantly stood and saluted the clown twins, but they turned to Randall and Steiner. 

"Any orders from the queen of what to do with these two?" the guard asked.

"Orders there are," Thorn told him.

"The queen ordered us to tell you to execute them," Zorn added.

"What!" Steiner bellowed. "Impossible! The queen would _never _order such a thing!"

"This is an act of war!" Randall shouted. "I am a Lindblum official!"

"Care, we don't," Thorn replied.

"Thorn, let us leave," Zorn said, then turned to the guard. "Bring them to the execution room."

"Yes, sirs!" the guard saluted.

"No!" Steiner shouted as the twins left.

The guard then walked up to Randall's cell, chuckling, "Too bad, now we'll have to fight Lindblum… oh well…"

Once the guard unlocked Randall's cell, Randall smirked, the guard noticed this and asked, "What you smirkin' at boy?"

"You're demise!" Randall exclaimed, aimed open palmed at the soldier, and a lightning bolt struck his chest, causing him to fall back unconscious. Randall picked up the guard's keys and rushed over to Steiner's cell.

"Stop what you're doing!" Steiner shouted. "Once we talk to the queen-"

"We _won't_ be able to talk to the queen, Steiner," Randall told him. "Don't you understand? They are going to _kill_ us! They don't care about us!"

"Wh-what do you mean?" Steiner asked.

"I don't know why they're going to kill us…" Randall muttered as Steiner's cell became unlocked. "But I assume that means the princess is in deep trouble…"

"The princess?"

"Yes, now make a choice, Steiner," Randall told him. "Either join Claire's side or Brahne's side."

"…" Steiner was silent for a moment. "I'll… I'm on the princess's side!"

"Good," Randall exclaimed. "Now let's go!"

They rushed out of the room, only to find that there were two guards outside the door. "The prisoner's are escaping!" the guards exclaimed.

Randall quickly zapped one with a lightning attack, and Steiner punched the other in the face, making him stumble back and fall to the ground unconscious. They were on the outside of the ship, they could see below them barrels and several black mages seeming ready to go into the barrels for some reason.

They glanced around and then Randall noticed something, a large sandstorm, "Steiner! That sandstorm!"

"What about it?" Steiner asked.

"That sandstorm protects Cleyra!" Randall exclaimed. "They're planning to attack Cleyra now!"

"No… Steiner mumbled. "I… don't believe it…"

"Where's the queen's chamber?" Randall asked.

Steiner pointed ahead, at a room in the front of the airship, "Down there."

"Good, let's go," Randall replied and rushed down to the room, being followed by Steiner. The top half of the door was made of glass, so Randall and Steiner were able to peek inside.

The queen was there, standing next to a silver-haired man, and Zorn and Thorn were dancing around a table that contained the princess. "Claire!" Randall exclaimed. "She's in the bed!"

"What are they doing?" Steiner asked.

"I don't know…" Randall mumbled. "Who is that silver-haired man?"

"I'm not certain… though I've seen him around the castle before…"

Just then they saw rays of magic rise from the princess's chest, and form into a pitch-black orb. "That's a dark matter!" Randall exclaimed. "They're drawing it from the princess! We have to stop them!"

"Right…" Steiner mumbled.

Randall then burst inside the room, drawing attention from the queen and the man, but not from the two twins. "What are you doing!" Randall exclaimed.

"You're supposed to be dead!" the queen shouted.

"Why, my queen?" Steiner asked. "We have done nothing wrong…"

"Kuja, destroy them!" Brahne demanded.

"No, how about instead they watch the attack on Cleyra," Kuja suggested. "It'll be rather humorous!"

"I like the way you think, Kuja," the queen grinned.

"You sadistic bastard!" Randall shouted. "We refuse to!"

"You don't have a choice," Kuja tittered as he raised his hand, open palmed, at the two.

Their bodies began to feel stiff, and suddenly they lost all feeling in their bodies, except that they could still see.

* * *

Eventually, Blank found himself at the sanctum, and so he walked inside. The first room, a room that was like a lobby, had benches across the sides of the building below windows that let in light that was necessary for the building. There was a room beyond this lobby, though there were two guards standing in front of it, both with dull and probably rarely used spears. 

"Would you be Sir Blank?" one guard asked.

"Yeah," Blank nodded. "Why?"

"Lady Freya requested that if you were to show up for us to allow you into the room," the soldier answered as he stepped out of the way.

"Thanks," Blank nodded and walked up the steps. In this new room, there were several Cleyrans with white robes, two Burmecian knights, not including Freya, one harp with a shining red jewel on it, a woman in a white dress sitting next to it, Freya, and the king of Burmecia and Cleyra.

"Blank," Freya said as he came in, and motioned him to come over by her. "This is the king of Burmecia," she said, pointing to a Burmecian wearing armor and a blue cape, "and this is the Cleyran king," she finished, pointing to a man wearing a white robe and holding a staff.

"Nice to meet you," Blank nodded to them.

"Freya tells us that you've protected the Alexandrian princess for some time now," the Burmecian king said.

"That's correct sir… did Freya tell you how Claire…" the two kings looked confused at Blank, but then he corrected himself, "or Garnet wanted to be captured? And that he wanted help from Cid against Alexandria?"

"Yes, she told us all of that," the Cleyran king nodded.

"All right," Blank nodded. "Good. So you know she isn't an enemy."

"That is correct," the Burmecian king replied. "In fact, we belie-"

"THE SANDSTORM!" shouted someone from the previous room. Instantly everyone in the room looked out the window and saw that the sandstorm suddenly died down, and they could see Queen Brahne's airship, the Red Rose, hovering just a little ways from the tree.

"The Red Rose!" Blank exclaimed.

Suddenly a Burmecian soldier rushed into the room, and shouted, "Alexandrian soldiers are attacking at the entrance of the town!"

"I'll go!" Freya announced.

"Me too!" Blank shouted.

"Go! Hurry!" the Burmecian King told them.

They both instantly ran out of the sanctum and to the entrance of the town, where they saw that there were all ready several downed soldiers. They also noticed that Vivi was casting magic on the soldiers, but at the rate they were coming it wouldn't hold them off for long.

"Way to go, Vivi!" Blank exclaimed and he slashed down one soldier.

"We must work quickly!" Freya announced as she took down a soldier.

The three, along with the help of some Burmecian soldiers, were able to destroy the surprising small attack. They all congratulated themselves, but Blank and Freya knew better.

"That attack was too small…" Freya murmured.

"I know…" Blank muttered, then looked up at the airship. "What are you planning, Brahne?"

"_BLACK MAGES_!" shouted someone further into the town. All the fighters at the entrance instantly rushed up and destroyed the black mages that had killed a Burmecian family, Blank realized this family as being the one he bought his new sword from.

"How are the mages getting here?" Blank asked.

"Burmecian knights take the left side!" Freya ordered. "Blank, Vivi, and myself will take the right! Work your way to the sanctum!"

"Yes!" the soldiers instantly cried and rushed up the left side.

"Let's go!" Freya shouted, leading the group up the right side of the village.

The mages seemed to simply appear in front of them, but at the time that wasn't what they worried about. What they worried about was destroying the mages, not where they were coming from. That can be taken care of later, for now killing them was all that concerned them. As they traveled up the tree, they saved five citizens, two children who are now fatherless and motherless, two dancers, and one cleric.

Once they reached the top, they rushed inside the sanctum and into the room that held the two kings. Inside, however, they saw two fallen Burmecian knights, the woman sitting next to the harp on the ground bleeding, and the two kings looking frighteningly at the harp. Once Blank, Freya, and Vivi looked at the harp, they saw General Beatrix standing there, holding the jewel and with her sword pointed at the two kings.

"Cleyra has fallen!" Beatrix laughed.

"_You_!" Freya exclaimed, pointing her spear at Beatrix. "You did this! You destroyed Cleyra! Just like you did Burmecia!"

Beatrix paid little heed to Freya, and instead rushed right past them and out of the sanctum. "We'll get you, Beatrix!" Blank exclaimed as he, Freya, and Vivi quickly followed her out of the sanctum.

There, Beatrix cockily stood, grinning at them. "You wish to fight me?" she asked. "Without your friend, I don't think you'll stand much of a chance."

"We'll see about that!" Blank shouted as he rushed at Beatrix. He tried to strike her, but she easily defended, and nearly hit Blank with a counterstrike, but he was able to jump back quickly enough.

Vivi then hit Beatrix with a thundara, a skill he recently learned, but she seemed to barely notice that he had attacked at all. Freya jumped high in the air and threw her spear down at Beatrix, but instead of hitting her, Beatrix managed to catch the spear, and threw it back at Freya, who was also able to catch it.

"Fools! You don't stand a chance!" Beatrix laughed. "Climhazzard!"

Again, the three were struck down to their knees, and Beatrix, for some reason, decided to spare them.

Beatrix ran a little ways away from them, and suddenly a small ball of pale blue light appeared. "Retreat!" Beatrix announced and jumped into the ball. The ball then vanished and another appeared.

By this time, a cleric rushed out of the sanctum and healed the three. "She got away!" Blank exclaimed.

"Not yet!" Freya exclaimed, pointing to the pale blue ball of light. "She went into that! If we go in as well, we'll be able to catch up with her!"

"A-Are you sure?" Vivi nervously asked.

In response, Freya leapt into the ball of light, which vanished. Blank and Vivi rushed up to the spot, and Vivi exclaimed, "She's gone!"

Just then, another ball appeared, and Blank said, "Vivi, we have to go next!"

"A-All right…" Vivi nervously muttered.

When the next one appeared, Blank leapt in.

"Now I'm all alone…" Vivi muttered.

Then another appeared and after a second of hesitation, Vivi jumped in.

When Blank opened his eyes, all he saw was darkness, except above him, there was light. Blank popped his head to the light, and discovered that he was on some airship. He then jumped out of what he then discovered to be barrel, and Freya had all ready jumped out, and Vivi jumped out a moment after Blank.

"Where are we?" Blank asked.

"The Red Rose," Freya softly responded.

"Freya?" Vivi asked. "What's wrong?"

"Look…" Freya replied as she was looking over the edge of the airship.

What they saw was the beautiful Cleyra in flames. It was burning, every building had been lit aflame, all the people, those poor people who remain in the town, are all on fire. The sight made Vivi step back and cover his mouth, Freya seemed to cause Vivi to be deeply saddened, but for Blank it only made him angrier.

What enraged Blank the most was that those people, every single person who was attacked and now burning alive, if not all ready dead, were innocent. They had done absolutely nothing wrong, and the Alexandrians, the bloodthirsty Alexandrians, invaded them for absolutely no reason. The only reason, the only reason that Blank knew of yet, was pure greed, and the want of more land.

"Damn it!" Blank exclaimed. "Goddamn it!"

"I can't believe it…" Vivi muttered.

"Those… Alexandrians…" Freya muttered.

Just then the sky became pitch dark, and instantly the crew knew something was wrong. "Wh-what's going on?" Vivi asked.

* * *

"Bwahaha!" Queen Brahne laughed. She was in the front of the airship, the silver-haired man was standing next to her, Zorn and Thorn were a little behind them, but still able to look out at Cleyra, Randall and Steiner were unable to move next to Zorn and Thorn, still able to look at the village, and the princess was unconscious lying on the bed behind Zorn and Thorn. "Are you sure this will work, Kuja?" 

"Of course," the silver-haired man smirked. "It is a much better way to get rid of your foes, and you don't even have to waste any of your soldiers."

"Excellent!" the queen laughed.

"Don't do it!" Randall shouted. "You can't! They haven't done anything!"

"Silence," Kuja said, glaring at Randall and Steiner. "You're lucky I gave you the ability to speak, and I wouldn't overuse that ability."

"Queen Brahne, I beg you to reconsider!" Steiner exclaimed.

"_Be quiet_!" the queen shouted. "Now, Odin! I summon thee!"

The sky above Cleyra instantly became pitch black, and the queen's eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she was about to witness, a summon, things alike this hadn't been seen for hundreds of years. Why her daughter would be able to summon was beyond her own understanding.

Kuja smirked and slightly giggled once as this had happened. "You sadistic bastard!" Randall shouted to Kuja. "Stop this! Please stop this!"

"Stop this, please my queen, please stop this!" Steiner begged.

Just then, an explosion of darkness seemed to erupt from the center of the darkness. And out of that explosion rode Odin, riding on his horse with a spear in hand. Then he threw the spear at Cleyra, which caused the once beautiful and peaceful village to burst into flames. The eruption of flames caused Brahne to laugh a laugh similar to what it would seem like a horse would do.

* * *

"_NNNOOOOOO_!" Freya cried, falling to her knees. 

"_Bastards_!" Blank exclaimed.

"I… I can't believe it…" Vivi muttered.

After Odin returned to the darkness, which completely disappeared as Odin vanished behind it. Vivi dropped to his knees with Freya, but Blank could barely contain himself from killing everyone on the airship.

"No…" Freya murmured. "I… I can't believe it… Cleyra… Burmecia… it's gone…"

"You're just going to sit there, Freya?" Blank asked. "We have to avenge your fallen comrades! You have to avenge everyone!"

Freya stood, and nodded at Blank. "I will… I shall avenge each one of them right now."

"Great!" Blank exclaimed, then turned to Vivi. "Are you coming, Vivi?"

"Y-Yeah," Vivi nodded. "They were such nice people… I can't believe anyone could do that!"

"Good," Blank nodded. "Now come on, the queen has to be somewhere on this airship!"

The team drew their weapons and rushed to the front of the airship, assuming, and correctly so, that the queen was inside. Once they burst in everyone in the room, except for Randall, Steiner, and Claire who couldn't move, looked at them.

"You again?" the silver-haired man, Kuja, asked. "Where is Felix?"

"That doesn't matter!" Blank shouted. "I can't believe you would do such a terrible thing!"

"Blank!" Randall exclaimed.

"What are you doing here!" Steiner exclaimed.

"Randall! Steiner!" Blank exclaimed, he then looked around the room and saw Claire lying on the bed. "Claire!"

Blank rushed over to Claire's side, dropping his sword as he did, and dropped to his knees and grasped her hands. "Claire? Claire… wake up, Claire!" Blank begged.

"She won't be waking up anytime soon," Kuja told Blank. "Not only did I put her under a sleeping spell, but also we extracted Eidolons from her. She'll probably be unconscious for at least the rest of the day."

"Eidolons?" Blank asked. "Just what the hell did you do to her!"

"Eidolons are also known as summons," Kuja told him. "Much like the Eidolon Odin you just saw attack Cleyra."

"You used Claire for that!" Blank shouted.

"In a sense…" Kuja muttered. "We used her summons, yes, but what are hers is now ours."

"That's right," the queen replied. "And now she will be executed."

"Executed!" Blank exclaimed. "No! She's you're daughter! You're going to kill you daughter!"

"She committed a crime that is punishable by death!" Queen Brahne shouted. "I don't know why we're even bothering explaining this to you."

Kill the princess!" Steiner exclaimed. "Please reconsider, my queen!"

"Silence!" Brahne bellowed. "Kuja! Eliminate them!"

"Hmm… I'll give them a fighting chance first," Kuja chuckled, and instantly Randall and Steiner could feel the effect instantly.

"We can move!" Steiner exclaimed, and the two quickly ran by the princess's side. "Princess… no…"

"Your own daughter!" Randall shouted at the queen. "I can't believe you would use your own daughter this way!"

"Why!" Blank shouted. "Why would you do something like this to your own daughter? To my Claire!"

"Silence!" the queen shouted. "Kuja! Destroy them!"

Just then, Beatrix walked into the room and asked, "What's going on in here?"

"Beatrix!" the queen exclaimed. "Just in time. Eliminate these traitors!"

Beatrix turned and saw Steiner with them, "Traitors? Steiner?"

"Yes!" the queen exclaimed. "Now destroy them!"

"No! Beatrix, she's wrong!" Steiner exclaimed.

"What are you talking about Steiner?"

"All my life… I always thought that the queen was right… what she said was law… but she's wrong!" Steiner exclaimed. "She's betraying her people! Even her own daughter, Princess Garnet!"

"What…?" Beatrix asked as Steiner moved out of the way so Beatrix could see Claire lying on the bed. "The princess! Is this true?"

"Yes, it's true," the queen replied. "She committed crimes punishable by death, so she shall be sentenced to death."

"And she used Claire's Eidolons to destroy Cleyra!" Blank exclaimed.

"No…" Beatrix muttered.

"Help us, General Beatrix!" Randall exclaimed. "You know the difference between what's right and wrong. Or at the very least you know that killing the innocents is wrong."

"…" Beatrix was silent. "What was your purpose for attacking Burmecia and Cleyra, your highness?"

"I don't need to explain my purposes to you, Beatrix," the queen replied.

"Help us, Beatrix," Randall said. "Help use and your princess. Do what your heart tells you to do."

Beatrix drew her sword, closed her eyes, and shook her head. "I… I thought this was wrong… all my years of training… all used for evil…" she shot her head up and glared at the queen. "I can't allow you to continue! I must fight you!"

"We'll all help you!" Steiner exclaimed.

"No!" Beatrix shouted. "You all have to leave! Use the barrels outside! I'll stall them!"

"You won't be able to handle me alone for half a second," Kuja smirked.

"I'll fight with you!" Steiner exclaimed. "Blank! Protect the princess!"

"Of course!" Blank exclaimed.

"I'm staying too!" Freya shouted. "I have to avenge my people!"

"Thank you!" Randall exclaimed. "Now Blank! We must hurry!"

"Right," Blank nodded, picked up the princess, and rushed to the barrels outside of the room with Vivi and Randall.

"Are you sure what we're doing is right?" Vivi asked.

"They're sacrificing themselves for all of us," Randall told Vivi. "They are doing what they believe is right… no one can ask any more than that of a person."

"A-All right…" Vivi nodded.

"We have to go into these things to escape the airship," Blank said. "If we don't do this, their sacrifice will be in vain. Let's go!"

Blank, still holding the princess, jumped into the barrel.

"You next, Vivi," Randall said. "The faster we're out of here, the better."

"A-All right," Vivi replied, then leapt into the barrel.

"I wish you the best of luck Beatrix… Steiner… Freya…" Randall silently said, and then leapt inside the barrel.

* * *

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	10. Escape from Alexandria

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Chapter Ten: Escape from Alexandria

* * *

When Blank opened his eyes, he realized that he was inside some sort of castle. When he looked around, he noticed that there was a spiral staircase around them leading to the floor below. Soon, Randall and Vivi reappeared as well, and he then noticed that he was standing on a four squares, each that had an Alexandrian symbol. 

He then looked down at Claire to see if she was all right. He really wished that she was all right, unfortunately, the only sign of life in her was her heartbeat and her _very_ soft breathing. His anger for the queen erupted, he couldn't believe that her own mother would try to assassinate her!

"Wh-where are we?" Vivi asked.

"I think we're in Alexandria castle," Blank answered.

"This is about the worst place we could have came back," Randall added. "We have to get out of here in a hurry!"

"Right," Blank nodded. "Any idea how long it will take for the Red Rose to come back?"

"I'd say we have about half an hour," Randall answered. "But we'll probably have to fight several soldiers, so we really need to hurry, and avoid as many of the soldiers as possible."

"All right," Blank confidently nodded. "We have to hurry. We have to find a place to rest Claire…"

"Yes of course…" Randall muttered. "Then we must especially hurry."

"Come on!" Blank said, running into the next room. Of course, he was running slower than usually because he was carrying the princess, which actually was pretty good for the situation, because now he was running about as fast as Randall and Vivi.

As they ran through the castle, Randall noticed that there weren't very many soldiers, though he wasn't the only who noticed, Vivi and Blank also noticed. However, Blank was too concerned about the princess to think about it and Vivi was too frightened to be bothered by it. They kept running like this, until they reached the courtyard, when they saw something terrible.

Bodies. Dead Alexandrian bodies were scattered all across the courtyard. The entire group instantly stopped their sprint to gaze upon this frightening scene. The stones were tainted crimson with the blood of the soldiers. This frightening scene made Vivi take a step back and cover his mouth, looking like he was about to throw up.

"Wh-who would do this…?" Vivi muttered.

"Someone… with amazing power…" Randall silently shuddered.

"… We have to keep moving," Blank told them. "Whoever did this obvious is an enemy of Alexandria, so they might be an ally of ours."

"Blank, if they see you with the princess…" Randall started.

"…" Blank looked down at the princess. "Damnit… you're right… I can't risk Claire…"

"So what are we going to do?" Vivi asked. "I don't want to be here any more…"

"I don't know…" Blank muttered.

Just then they heard something above them, and once they looked up, they saw the Red Rose.

"Oh no, we're too late!" Randall exclaimed. "If the queen catches us here…"

"Damnit… we need help!" Blank exclaimed.

"Blank?" asked a familiar voice.

* * *

"This is impossible!" Steiner shouted. He, Beatrix, and Freya had been fighting for about half an hour against waves of black mages. They were able to quickly destroy some of the black mages due to their weak physical defense, however when there were so many of them, they were able to cast spells on them. 

They were getting very weak, Freya was nearly fainted, Beatrix, though still willing to fight, was beginning to slow down, and Steiner had taken too many hits to continue the fight. They had retreated from room to room in the airship, and now they were outside on the deck, and if any more packed into the deck they would probably fall off.

"Those barrels!" Freya exclaimed, pointing to the barrels that Blank, Vivi, and Randall jumped into earlier. "We can use those to teleport out of here!"

"The queen has probably turned those off!" Beatrix exclaimed. "The only option is to fight until we reach Alexandria!"

Freya pointed over the edge; "Looks like we only have to wait a little while longer! I see Alexandria castle all ready!"

"We'll live!" Steiner exclaimed.

"We have to keep fighting if we want that to happen!" Beatrix exclaimed, slashing her sword through a black mage who had gotten a little too close to them for comfort.

Steiner jammed the sharp edge of his sword into the ground and put all his weight into it. He was finished he knew it. If he were to keep on fighting, he would probably faint. He was so tired, he wanted to rest more than ever, but something felt so right about this, he felt like what he was doing was beyond right. This was because this was the first time he had ever actually fought for what _he_ believed. No longer was he fighting for the queen, he was fighting for what he knew what was right, he was fighting for himself.

Steiner managed to stand once again, and slashed through another black mage, when the ones who were out of their reached seemed to begin casting a spell. "If that spell hits us… we're finished!" Freya panted. She, like Steiner, was finished, in fact, in her tiredness, her vision was becoming a little blurry. She was actually surprised that she hadn't fainted yet, though her mind knew that she would have to keep fighting, despite her body's protest.

Beatrix rose her blade and cried, "Climhazzard!" Lighting struck the mages who were trying to cast the spells, temporarily saving the three, however, Beatrix also fell to the ground.

"Beatrix!" Steiner exclaimed, crouching down next to her. He felt for her pulse, and was happy to feel it still beating. "She… passed out…"

"Steiner… I think we're finished…" Freya panted as the black mages came closer to them still.

"We were so close…" Steiner panted, looking down at Beatrix. "At least I shall die fighting for myself!" Steiner raised his blade high and exclaimed, "I refuse to stop! I will fight until my very death! Freya! We must continue our battle!"

Freya looked into her pockets for a potion, a useless search, as she knew that she used up the last of her potions a little while ago. In the state their were in, neither of them would live to see Alexandria, but if one of them had the strength to fight… "Steiner! I leave it all up to you!" Freya cried. "Reis' Wind!"

Steiner then felt himself becoming slowly rejuvenated, his wounds slowly became less of a screeching pain, and his muscles stopped the cry of agony. "Freya!" Steiner exclaimed in happiness, looking over to his comrade, but a look of sorrow covered his face, seeing that Freya, like Beatrix, had fallen unconscious. "Freya! No! I… must I stand alone against these foes!"

Steiner held his blade confidently to his side, glaring at his foes. Now he fought not only for himself, but also for his comrades who lied unconsciously beside him. They lost their will to battle to save him, to allow him to continue fighting. He had to protect them; they were so close to Alexandria that he couldn't stop now.

Steiner charged into the oncoming group of black mages and slashed away as many as he could, however, two of them managed to make a spell before he struck them down, and Steiner was hit with a barrage of fire attacks. However, the wounds that formed were also being healed by Freya's Reis' wind attack, but if they attacked him too fast…

Another group was approaching, however, this group seemed to all ready have a spell prepared, which they all cast on Steiner. This was a bombardment of lightning attacks, which sent Steiner back against the edge. The wounds were being healed by Freya's spell, but to become healed it would take time before he would be able to attack again, time he didn't have.

Steiner could hear the faint sound of another airship approaching, but that only worried him, since more than likely it was just more Alexandrian airships. However, instead he felt fully rejuvenated once more, and he saw that the group of black mages had been slain. He looked at the two who seemed to jump down from the airship; one was a little shorter than Steiner with a bandanna across his head and almost covering his eyes. He wore a blue shirt and held a blade similar to Steiner's in his hand.

The other was taller than Steiner with a face covered in a thick beard and ears poking out of his head. He wore ragged clothes, and held a humongous blade, a blade a pirate might wield. Steiner instantly recognized these two, and had never been happier to see them, actually it was the first time he was happy to see them at all.

"Tantalus!" Steiner exclaimed.

"Baku and Marcus at your service," Baku told him.

"Why did you help me!" Steiner asked. "How did you get here!"

"We showed up to help our boy Zidane," Baku answered. When we saw the Red Rose, we were gonna avoid it, but then saw you fightin' and decided to help ya."

"Th-thank you!" Steiner exclaimed.

"Save your thanks for later!" Marcus exclaimed. "Here comes more of 'em!"

The three quickly destroyed the group that showed up, even before they had a chance to cast a spell. Steiner was amazed by the skill that these bandits had, and decided that once they reached Alexandria, he would give them a cordial apology.

"What about your airship?" Steiner asked. "Who's flying that?"

"We got Cinna flyin' it," Baku answered. "Now where's Blank?"

"Blank escaped from the airship earlier!" Steiner exclaimed. "Beatrix, Freya, and myself stayed back so that he could."

"Ahh, I see now," Baku replied.

Just then, the door to the front of the ship opened, and the silver-haired man, who Steiner believed was named Kuja, stepped outside. "I see you have new comrades," Kuja tittered. "It's a pity they'll have to die as well."

"Jus' who are you?" Baku asked.

"Me?" Kuja asked. "Kuja. Not that it matters to you. Prepare to die!"

Kuja raised his arm and a huge ball of dark energy appeared in it. Steiner was paralyzed with fear, thinking all his fighting had been in vain, but Baku grabbed Beatrix and Freya, while Marcus grasped Steiner's shoulder. As Kuja threw the ball of energy at the group, Marcus threw Steiner off the airship, then Baku and him jumped off.

Steiner shouted as he fell, thinking that Marcus and Baku betrayed him. _I never should have trusted those bandits!_ Steiner cursed in his mind. However, once he saw them jumping off as well, he felt a little more secure.

Then his back landed hard against the wooden dock of an airship, and shortly after he landed, Marcus and Baku landed next to him, with Freya and Beatrix. They quickly ran into the cockpit, Steiner following them, where Cinna was still flying the airship.

"Go faster!" Baku shouted.

"Why?" Steiner asked.

"Look behind you!" Baku replied. Steiner looked in horror when he saw that the large black ball of energy that Kuja had summoned was now following the ship.

The magic then hit the right engine of the airship, making it very unsteady, and everyone fell on their backs, including the pilot, Cinna. Baku quickly went to the controls and barely managed to dodge the castle, however they did crash into the mountain behind the castle.

* * *

"Felix!" Blank shouted once he saw the man across the courtyard. 

"Yes?" Felix asked.

"What happened to you after we reached Burmecia!" Blank shouted. "You abandoned us!"

"I felt that I should fight Kuja alone," Felix answered nonchalantly. "If I were to ask you to help, it would only cause unnecessary casualties."

"I can't believe you!" Blank shouted at him. "You could have at least healed us!"

"I did," Felix answered. "However, I only healed you until I was certain that you would survive, then I left."

"Relax, Blank," Randall told him. "What is your past with Kuja?"

"…" Felix looked down at his boots, then back up at the team. "Now is not the time."

"You can heal people?" Vivi asked.

"Yes," Felix nodded. "I apologize for not using my full power when I traveled with you, but I felt that Kuja might find me if I did."

"Can you heal Claire?" Vivi asked.

"Hmm?" Felix asked, then noticing the princess in Blank's arms. "I hadn't noticed her before…" He then walked over to Blank and glanced over her. "I don't see any wounds. What happened to her?"

"They extracted her Eidolons," Randall added.

"So, is she just weak then?" Felix asked.

"I assume," Randall answered. "Things like this… hadn't happened in hundreds of years."

"I understand," Felix nodded. He put his right hand to his forehead and closed his eyes, and then a cure spell covered the princess. Felix checked her again, seeing that there was no change, and then he tried it again.

This time, there were results, she fluttered her eyes open and Blank exclaimed, "Claire! You're safe!"

"Blank?" she asked. "I… was so scared…"

"Don't worry," Blank reassured her. "I'm here… I'll protect you…"

"Blank… thank you…" Claire said. She then wrapped her arms around Blank's neck and closed her eyes. She had been so scared before, she never would have dreamed that her mother would do such terrible things to her. All she wanted now was to run away from her mother, and… be with Blank.

"You should thank Felix," Randall said as Blank put Claire down on the ground.

Claire turned to the man, and widely smiled, "Thank you… but how did you heal me?"

"Felix has tremendous powers, Claire," Blank told her. "He was holding back all that time."

"What?" Claire asked. "Why?"

"Maybe I'll tell you someday," Felix answered. "Right now, I believe we both have more important matters at hand."

"Oh my god!" Claire exclaimed once she saw her courtyard smeared in blood and dead bodies. "Who… who did this?"

"I did," Felix answered.

"How… how could you!" Claire shouted.

"They are enemies, princess," Felix answered. "This is a war, and unfortunately people die."

"You did… all this?" Claire asked, horrified and frightened by his skills. "You hid all this power away from us?"

"He is incredibly powerful, Claire," Blank told her. "He was able to defeat Beatrix with a single hit."

"A single hit…?" Claire asked, and then realized that they were still missing some comrades. "Where's Steiner! And Freya!"

"Beatrix is helping them fight the queen and Kuja," Blank answered, and then glared at Felix. "If someone had stayed with us, then maybe they wouldn't have had to be left behind."

"I apologize, Blank, but now I must go," Felix told him.

"Why?" Blank asked.

"Kuja is here, just as I had hoped," Felix answered. "Now I will avenge all my fallen friends…"

"Fallen friends?" Claire asked. "What are you talking about?"

"I'll tell you some other time."

"There won't be another time if you fight him!" Blank shouted at him. "He destroyed you last time! You didn't stand a chance! Why would you be able to fight him this time!"

"Yes, Felix, please come with us," Randall told him. "With our help, you may be able to defeat Kuja."

"…" Felix looked back at them. "Fine… I'll go with you, but now where are we going to go?"

"We have to get out of the castle!" Blank exclaimed.

"How?" Felix asked, pointing to where the ferry usually to people to and away from the castle. "The boat is not here and won't return for some time."

"Damn it…" Blank muttered.

"There's a secret exit underneath the castle!" Claire exclaimed. "It's Gargon Roo!"

"Gargon Roo?" Randall asked. "Excellent! At the end of the path should be Lindblum! We can go directly to Lindblum from here!"

"Good, let's go!" Claire exclaimed. "It's up by the royal chambers for an emergency exit! Let's hurry!"

Claire then led the group through the castle to the secret exit. Blank was overjoyed by the new events, Claire was all right and Felix was back. However, Felix was all ready beginning to anger him, the way he just left them behind to avenge his old friends. Also, it seemed Felix was more foolish than he let on, he was always telling Blank that he had to correct what he did, but now it was Blank who told Felix that if Felix fought Kuja again, he would die.

Of course Blank believed that. If Felix weren't able to defeat Kuja about a day ago, why would he be able to defeat him now? But what angered Blank the most about Felix was the way he withheld his power from the rest of the group. If he used his true strength, at Gizamaluke's grotto, Felix could have easily been able to destroy Gizamaluke. They wouldn't have had to loss so many people. But no, it all was because Felix wanted his revenge, people were dying and he could have done something to prevent it, but Felix was too selfish.

Once Claire and the group reached the secret chambers, any enemies they ran into fell to their knees and bowed once they saw Claire, and then returned to their posts. Claire rushed into her old room, which was very large. The room had a large bed next to a fireplace, which had an oddly purple colored candleholder, and there was even more room behind a red curtain, but right now Claire seemed focused and ran up to the candleholder. She pulled it down, which made the fireplace move back, revealing steps leading below the castle.

"Amazing…" Randall muttered. "Who would have imagined Alexandria held such an odd secret?"

"We must hurry," Felix told him as the group and then rushed down the steps. It turned out that it was an enormous spiral staircase that leads all the way down to a concrete bottom. The air in the new room was very stale; clearly it had not been used for several years.

Once they reached the bottom of the steps, Claire pointed to a new room that passed a thick walkway. "Right down there is Gargon Roo!"

"Its too late," Felix said, looking back at the staircase.

"What are you talking about?" Blank asked. "Come on, let's hurry!"

"Black mages…" Felix muttered. "There are hundreds of them, they're running down that staircase…"

"What!" Claire exclaimed.

"Oh no!" Vivi cried.

"How can you tell?" Blank asked.

"I can sense them…" Felix told them.

"By the time we get in the Gargon, they would probably be able to change course so that it came right back here…" Randall announced.

"I'll stay back and fight!" Felix exclaimed.

"No! You won't be able to do it!" Blank shouted.

"You have to escape!" Felix told him. "You won't be able to do it unless I stay back!"

"I'm staying too!" Randall shouted. "That raises the stakes a little."

"No!" Claire exclaimed. "Randall! Don't stay!"

"Do not stay, Randall!" Shouted someone from above them.

They all looked up and saw Steiner, Freya, Beatrix, Marcus, Baku, and Cinna jump down in front of them. "Guys!" Blank exclaimed.

"What this fella here said is true," Baku told Blank. "A whole bunch of mages are comin'."

"What are you guys doing here!" Blank exclaimed.

"They saved us," Steiner told him. "Now go, Blank! Protect the princess!"

"I won't leave you guys behind again!" Blank shouted.

"_Now_!" Felix bellowed. "_Go, Blank_! _Protect Claire_!"

Blank then reluctantly nodded, "Randall, you're coming too, right?"

"It doesn't look like they need my help here anymore," Randall answered.

"All right, let's go!" Blank shouted, and rushed into the Gargon Roo entrance.

Gargon Roo was a very damp place with air even more stale than in the previous room. There was a wide dusty balcony, and the rest was simply a large cave that seemed pretty straightforward.

"Here!" Randall shouted, pulling down a lever. Once he did that, a small crate of some sort of green vegetables lowered in front of them.

"What's that for?" Blank asked.

"The gargon will come for the food," Randall told him. "Then we jump on it's back and ride it to the end."

Sure enough, a gargon, a very large beast that looked somewhat like a spider. It stopped in front of the crate and began eating it, during this time, Randall hopped on, and waved for them to follow.

And they did, next Claire jumped, Vivi, and then Blank. The insect like creature then, once finished eating, rushed down the path. It wasn't very comfortable to sit in, it's thick hair though actually made it fairly easy to keep balance. Claire was looking down and clearly looked depressed, so Blank asked, "What's wrong, Claire?"

"They're all staying back for me…" Claire silently muttered. "They all might die, but they're staying back anyway…"

"They're not just staying back for you, Claire," Randall told her. "They are staying back because they believe they must. They all realize that what the queen is doing is wrong, and so they know that they have to fight against her forces."

"Yeah," Blank agreed. "They aren't simply fighting for you, but they are fighting for themselves and their beliefs as well."

"I… I think I understand…" Claire muttered.

"Now just relax," Randall told her. "Once we arrive at Lindblum, Regent Cid will be able to take care of everything. And I'm sure your importance in this war will be shown. With your help, I'm sure he'll be able to make your mother understand just what she is doing."

A small smile formed on her face, and hope slowly covered her face, "Thank you…"

* * *

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